Britney Looney: Mom Hit With 60 Days For Child Neglect Now Faces 6 Years Due To Another Bad Choice

Britney Looney is a 26-year-old Tennessee mom who pleaded guilty last week to a misdemeanor charge of attempted child neglect — part of a plea deal that reduced the charge from a felony — stemming from an incident back in June when she left her 2-year-old home alone while she went out and did a little shopping at a dollar store not far from her apartment in the small city of Church Hill.

She was supposed to serve a 60-day sentence. But now, because of yet another bafflingly stupid decision, she may face a whole new sentence of between three and six years in prison.

The reason Looney went to jail in the first place originated in an incident about eight weeks ago.

Neighbors saw Looney’s daughter, just a toddler, wandering around outside the apartment complex wearing clothes that were soaked through with some sort of moisture — and carrying a cigarette lighter. The little girl then attempted to climb a flight of stairs on her own. The neighbors called the cops who didn’t have to wait long for Britney Looney to return toting her shopping bags.

Though the charges against her appeared quite serious, she gained a degree of national notoriety by posing for her mug shot (seen above) seemingly smiling and pleased with herself.

That was June 20. On August 4, she appeared in court to enter her guilty plea as part of her plea bargain and receive her 60-day sentence.

On Saturday, a jail officer, Wendy Huckaby, who was watching via security camera, noticed that Looney was acting strangely, “pulling at her pants and blanket as if she was trying to hide what she was doing.” She also felt that Looney was acting as if she was wasted.

Huckaby asked another corrections officer to investigate, and when Sergeant Sharon Smith searched Looney’s cell, sure enough, she found 12 pills reportedly identified as the narcotic Clonazepam — also known as Klonopin. According to the reports, Looney stuffed at least one of the pills into her mouth even as Smith searched the cell.

The search also turned up six ibuprofen — aka Advil — pills and four packets of “Goody’s Headache Powder,” an over-the-counter medication containing aspirin, acetaminophen (i.e. Tylenol), and caffeine.

So now Looney’s misdemeanor child neglect conviction is the least of her worries. She has been charged with possession of narcotics, smuggling contraband into a correctional facility, and tampering with evidence. A preliminary hearing on the new charges against Britney Looney, which could keep her locked up for the next six years of her life, is set for September 14.

[Image: Church Hill Police Department]