Surveillance footage inside a Pennsylvania convenience store told a very different story than the father did.
A young boy sat alone in a parked car for more than an hour. His father was nowhere to be seen. So the 7-year-old did what any frightened child might do — he picked up a phone and called 911.
What police found when they arrived at the Ephrata Food Mart and Smokeshop in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, was far worse than a simple case of poor parenting. It was, according to authorities, a deliberate abandonment — all for the sake of a gambling machine.
“The video showed Eddy entering the store at 4:24 p.m. and spending the next 63 minutes playing ‘skill machines’ while his child sat alone outside in the vehicle.”
Jason Matthew Eddy, 39, now faces a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child after the incident, which unfolded on a weekday afternoon at the convenience store on South Reading Road — about 65 miles west of Philadelphia.
When officers arrived at 5:19 p.m., both the boy and Eddy were still at the location. Eddy reportedly tried to explain his absence by claiming he had been dealing with a plumbing emergency in the store’s restroom. The story quickly fell apart.
Store surveillance footage showed Eddy walking through the front door at 4:24 p.m. and heading straight to the “skill machines” — slot machine-style gaming terminals that are commonly found in Pennsylvania gas stations, bars, and smoke shops. He did not leave for the next 63 minutes.
His son had been sitting outside in the car the entire time.
Key Facts
- Eddy entered the store at 4:24 p.m. and played gambling machines for 63 minutes straight
- His 7-year-old son was left unattended in the vehicle the entire time
- The boy himself called 911, telling dispatchers his father had abandoned him
- Eddy claimed he was fixing a restroom — video proved otherwise
- He was charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child
- Eddy was released on $5,000 unsecured bail; arraignment set for May 22
Eddy was formally charged on March 29 after police reviewed the surveillance evidence. He appeared before Magisterial District Judge Torrey J. Landis and was released on $5,000 unsecured bail. His formal arraignment is scheduled for May 22.
“Skill machines” occupy a legal grey area in Pennsylvania — they are presented as games of skill rather than pure chance, allowing them to operate outside traditional gambling regulations. Critics argue they function like slot machines and have become a growing concern, particularly in cases like this one where addiction-like behavior appears to have trumped parental responsibility.
For one little boy in Ephrata, the wait finally ended when police arrived. His father came out of the store shortly after — at 5:27 p.m., 63 minutes after he had walked in.
