ALEXANDRIA — Prosecutors charged a man with two counts of child neglect for allegedly leaving his children at home for several hours so he could drink alcohol with a friend.

Danny L. Ward, 39, Alexandria, was arraigned on the charges during a brief court hearing Tuesday. Each charge is punishable by six months to three years behind bars if he’s convicted. It wasn’t immediately known if Ward has an attorney.

According to court documents:

A neighbor contacted Madison County sheriff’s deputies at about 10 p.m. Sunday after he saw the 9-year-old boy and 2-year-old girl wandering in his yard in the 600 block of Trenton Street.

The man told officers he brought the children inside and fed them. He said he saw Ward leave his Second Street home several hours earlier.

Officers contacted a Department of Children’s Services caseworker, and eventually made contact with the children’s mothers.

The boy’s mother told officers she had custody of the 9-year-old, but he was at Ward’s home for visitation. The girl’s mother told deputies over a phone that she was out of town and Ward was supposed to be watching the child.

While officers were trying to determine what happened, Ward returned to his home. Initially he refused to come to the door, but eventually spoke with deputies. He admitted he was supposed to be watching the children.

“Danny said he left both children alone and went (to a friend’s) house and then into town,” Deputy Justin Weber writes in the affidavit. “I asked Danny how much he had to drink and he said more than 10 beers.”

A breath test determined Ward had a blood-alcohol content of 0.17 percent, more than double 0.08 percent, the level at which a person is legally considered too intoxicated to drive in Indiana.

Ward posted 10 percent of his $5,000 bond and was released from jail Tuesday afternoon. A published telephone listing for Ward could not be located and he could not be reached for comment.

Contact Shawn McGrath: 640-4883, shawn.mcgrath @heraldbulletin.com