Police: Ninja-playing Pa. dad left child, 4, alone

[March 12, 2011]  SCOTTDALE, Pa. (AP) -- Police say a western Pennsylvania man left his sleeping 4-year-old son home alone while he went outside and pretended to be a ninja warrior.

Online court records show 28-year-old Ross Hurst, of Scottdale, has applied for a public defender but has yet to be appointed one. The Daily Courier of Connellsville reports Hurst was charged March 3 after police found him outside about 1:30 a.m. dressed all in black and "playing ninja" on a borough street. Scottdale is about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Police say Scott told them his mother was watching the child, but the boy's grandmother said Hurst never asked her to baby-sit. Hurst's listed telephone is not in service. He faces a preliminary hearing March 30 on a charge of endangering the welfare of a child. ___ Information from: The Daily Courier, http://www.dailycourier.com/ [Associated Press] Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.