Parents accused of leaving child in hot car while they shopped at Target in Aventura bond out of jail
According to an arrest report Melvin Alejandro Jaimes and Paola Palencia-Rodriguez left their child in the car for 30 minutes during temperatures in the low 90s amid a tropical storm and tornado watch. Jaimes denied the allegations against him and his wife.
By Tynisa Senior, Alex Browning
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AVENTURA, Florida (WSVN) — The parents accused of child abuse after, police said, they left their toddler in a hot car while they shopped at Target in Aventura have bonded out of jail.
Police responded to the Target at 21265 Biscayne Blvd at around 11:15 a.m., Saturday, after a passerby reported a young child left alone in a locked car with the windows rolled up.
According to police, the child, who was found covered in vomit, was able to unlock the door after the witness’s encouragement.
The couple, Paola Palencia-Rodriguez, 24, and Melvin Alejandro Jaimes, 25, left their child in the car for 30 minutes during temperatures in the low 90s amid a tropical storm and tornado watch, according to the arrest report.
The child was sweaty, warm to the touch, and crying but otherwise alert, the report states. Medical responders evaluated the child, found him in good health, and turned him over to his grandmother.
Palencia-Rodriguez and Jaimes were arrested at the scene and transported to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
They face charges of third-degree child abuse and leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle.
At a court appearance on Monday, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy S. Glazer found probable cause for the charges, criticizing the couple’s decision to leave their child in the car.
“You made a decision to let your child sleep in a hot car and that child could’ve died,” Glazer said. “You are lucky a witness saw the child and got him out.”
The child’s grandmother, who attended the court session via Zoom, pleaded for leniency.
“Madam judge, my daughter she is a very, very, good mother. All of us here we love very much this child,” said the grandmother.
The parents are now only allowed supervised visits with the child. The Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating the case.
Jaimes was captured by 7News cameras as he left TGK on Tuesday morning. He denied the allegations against him and his wife.
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