A woman has pleaded guilty to five counts of child abuse for leaving her children unattended in a hot pickup, while a codefendant maintained not guilty pleas to the same charges.

Anita Three Irons, 28, pleaded guilty to the five Class C felonies Monday afternoon at the Burleigh County Courthouse.

South Central District Judge David Reich gave Three Irons a three-year deferred imposition of sentence, which means the offenses will be off Three Irons' record if she successfully completes three years of supervised probation. The sentence was handed down at the recommendations of Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Julie Lawyer and appointed defense attorney Kent Morrow.

Three Irons must cooperate with social services to have contact with her children.

Codefendant James Yellow Wolf, 38, pleaded not guilty to the five Class Cfelonies following a short preliminary hearing.

In that hearing, Bismarck Police Officer Andy Zachmeier testified that Wal-Mart employees called police after seeing five children, aged 4 months to 7 years old, in a vehicle on a day when the temperature was about 90 degrees. Two of the children initially had been taken into the store and an adult stayed with the other three children while two adults went in the store. Then, the two adults and two children returned to the pickup and all three adults went into the store. The adults were gone for about 45 minutes, leaving the children alone in the unlocked vehicle, Zachmeier said.

He said the third adult has not been identified.

Yellow Wolf claimed to be the father of the 4-month-old girl and the stepfather of the other children. However, once he was arrested, he claimed to have no connection to any of the children.

Wayne Goter, Yellow Wolf's appointed defense attorney, said prosecutors had not shown any evidence that Yellow Wolf was responsible for any of the children. Lawyer countered that Yellow Wolf told police he was responsible for them before recanting and lived in the same household as the children.

Goter also argued that the temperature of the vehicle was not evidence of abuse, since prosecutors allege only that the children were left unattended. He asked what the length of time is that a child has to be unattended before it becomes a crime.

Reich found probable cause for the case against Yellow Wolf to be brought to trial. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 20.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)