Thursday.
Mary Williams, 52, has been charged with abandonment and child endangerment after an officer saw the children -- 5 to 9 years old -- left inside a Dodge Caravan parked in the 5100 block of Avenue H on Sunday at about 1 p.m.
Officer David Hall said the car was locked and all the windows were closed except for the driver's side window, which was cracked open. He was able to slip his arm through a cracked window to unlock the door and get the children out.
Halls said the children appeared weak and scared, and said their clothing was soaked with sweat. It was 95 degrees at the time.
Authorities found the grandmother inside the Dollar Store in the same block.
The grandmother told officials she had only been in the store for five minutes, but investigators determined she had been inside for 15 minutes.
The children were turned over to Child Protective Services and were examined by doctors at OakBend Hospital in Richmond before they were returned to their parents.
The family called the allegations lies when confronted by Local 2.
Williams was released on a $3,000 bond.