You don't stay here. So, what are you doing here? We just stopped here this morning. Where's here? Wow. Sunday, March 16th, 2025, Flaggler County, Florida. The Flaggler County Sheriff's Office began receiving multiple emergency calls regarding a 2-year-old boy found wandering in the middle of the street wearing only pajamas. The situation was alarming and officers had to respond immediately. They needed to secure and care for the child while locating the responsible adult, but nothing could have prepared them for what they were about to uncover. I'm Tyler and this is your daily dose of crime. Yeah, he got out walked around. He got out and walked around. Yeah, when I was in the bathroom. Okay. Is he okay? Yeah, he's fine. Were you out here earlier with him or not? Yeah. Yeah, we just got up this morning and then he's bought his he's two and a half now. So, he knows how to like unlock doors. Okay. He just figured all that stuff out. So, he just went out here. I was like, "Dang, dude. We don't even stay here." So, you don't stay here? No. Where do you live? My my my parents house is where he Where is that? Up at the at the hammock. So, what are you doing here? We just stopped here this morning. Where is here? Take the dog out. It's my house. Uh, I've been here before. And you lived here at the time. I stayed Well, I stayed here by myself. Yeah. Not him. You exchanged your child here to your wife? Yeah. Your ex-wife? Yeah. Is she coming to pick him up today or? No. No. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. How did Why didn't you come out the door that you went in when I saw you when I walked up? Cuz I was out there going out this way to see what's going on. No, I think you knew what was going on. I didn't know there was like a bunch of people here. No, I was just kind of assessing the situation with him. 2-year-old that was walking in the street and then you saw me standing in the driveway. I'm wearing a brother. I'm just shut the door and then you won't open the door when I knocked 10 times. That that we were outside in the back. You came out the side over here because you just didn't I don't want I don't want any trouble, guys. I appreciate everybody's help. I I there's really not a big deal. Thanks to information provided by neighbors, officers were able to identify the child's father, Ross Judy. The situation struck authorities as highly unusual. The explanations Ross gave didn't make sense, and his behavior raised immediate suspicion. He claimed he didn't live at the house and had only stopped by to let the dog out. While he was in the bathroom, he said his son opened the door and wandered into the street. His statements to officers did not line up with the facts, and the nervousness in his behavior soon became clear. Well, looks like mommy's going to get the best of us in court. Hey. Hey, buddy. Come here. Hey, come here. This what happens when the dog gets killed by the neighbor and the wife leaves with the baby. The house goes to hell and then the baby ends up making a scene. Got up. He had woken up. He had woken up. I had gotten up and he went to watch Coco Melon and do his ABCs. So he's in there doing his ABCs and then I go to the bathroom like you know cuz sometimes you got to take a the morning you know. So I went to go do that. Normally it's quick in and out and he's watching his ABCs on the Coco Melon cartoon and I didn't hear him and I guess he walked out here. He must have been out here. Must not been too long or somebody spotted him. And obviously when you see a toddler in the street for God's sake, you're going to freak out and be like, "What the hell's going on here?" Do you know about the time that it was from the time that you last saw him until Right. Right. when uh the neighbor Sharon came over and brought him in, you know. So the neighbors I don't know if it was her. She said some other neighbor called you guys. Otherwise, she knew you know who he is. She immediately brought him in the house and brought him to but do you know like the amount of time it was from the time you got into the bathroom because you weren't see I mean he must have been out here just for a minute or two like Okay. I mean has has this happened before? No. No. No. Well, he drives a little Jeep. I got that modified Jeep that I made for him. Okay. And he's used to being around the neighborhood collecting golf balls driving around his Jeep. So, he's probably too comfortable around this neighborhood, but you know, this hour of the day on a Sunday shouldn't be out there at all, you know. Yeah. Um, so yeah, it's highly embarrassing. And and then you said the front door was locked. Yeah, it was deadbolted. Yeah, you could reach it, I guess. Okay. I don't I mean, I'm I'm stunned that uh Mr. Escape artist here has managed to do that in the amount of time that he did. You said you were in the bathroom. Yeah. Trying to think of fellas. So when the neighbor came over and notified you, what were you doing? I was in the bedroom at that point because I had just went in there to find him to make sure he was still watching Coco Melon. She comes walking in the house and I'm like, "What's going on?" According to Ross, his son had been watching cartoons while he was in the bathroom, which is why he didn't hear the child leave the house. But something was off. It turned out Ross had even gone to lie down in the bedroom, unaware of the child's whereabouts. He only realized what had happened when a neighbor brought the child back some 20 minutes later. So, you were already awake? Yeah. Okay. Your uh cameras work? No. No, they don't. That one's just a dummy. And the other one's a dummy as well. Well, that one actually does work, but it's dead. And there was another one. I think it's falling down. Okay. I guess I'm glad my son's safe. He's in my arms. Yeah, we we want to just make sure that your son is safe. He's absolutely safe. We He stays with his grandparents generally most of the time because I don't like this house because it's so old and rickety and I mean the water works, electric works and all that. It's just 70s house, you know. There's just not a very conducive safety to a a kid, you know? like there's a pool in the back that's green because I can't afford to take care of it right now. You know, like I said, man, we nine days after he came home, our dog was like crossing the yard from her house. My neighbor ran her over right in front of her and the dog got killed. So, she got a little bit and we separated after that because we just couldn't figure things out. It was just um postpartum is a thing, man. It triggered everything just like a total snowball. So, we've been trying therapists and stuff to get things sorted out between the two of us. And her mother's, you know, taking that. So, he normally uh stays at the grandparents house. Yeah. When he's with me, he's only with me six days a month. Oh, okay. Where's the grandparents live? Uh ro over surf club. Oh, okay. Yeah. building 3 unit uh 118 and then his mom's local as well. No, she moved to Dand. Okay. So, we don't even see each other. I just pick him up to and from daycare. But yeah, he's he was in his nursery watching Coco Melon. And then Where is that in relation to like the house where I was? It's on the other end of the hallway. But I I' I I'd like to just It's okay. We're going to be okay. No one's going to take you away. So, you were in you're in your you're I went to my I went to my bedroom from my bathroom. Yeah. Yeah. And then and he was not realizing that he was freaking outside like So, you weren't asleep or anything like that? No. No. And he was in his room watching Coco Melon. Yeah. So, how did he how did he get out? He he opened the deadbolt somehow. The deadbolt? Yes. How far can reach high is his death bolt? Really? It's about right here. He reached up and got it. No, you said about right here. Yeah. And he's about right here. He can reach. He can reach. Is there a step or something? Like I don't know what he did. I'm telling you, I deadbolt that door at night. Of course. I'm a father of a 2 and 1 half-year-old. You think I'm not going to leave the deadbolt on? The door doesn't even latch otherwise. Officers noted several inconsistencies in Ross' statements. He repeatedly said he didn't live there, explaining that he stayed with his parents due to problems with the house and only saw his son 6 days out of the month. The more that he insisted on not living at the residence and pointing out its supposed issues, the more suspicious it all sounded. Officers began to sense that he was hiding something. I don't know. Like I said, he's got I mean, he's he's long for a 2 and 1 halfyear-old. He he's got some reach. So, he's never tried to open this back up before. No, we don't. We're not here very often. We're not here often. He stayed most of the time at my parents house when he's with me for this very reason because I have a pool that is un unmaintained. I can't afford to maintain it. Why are you guys here now? Well, we we spent the night here last night. Okay. So, I wanted to It's my last night with my son. Okay. I wanted to just be with my son. That's it. I just wanted to be with my son. I'm sorry he got out of the street. I'm sorry. The neighbors obviously obviously flicked out. She would have known right. She's saying he's been out here for over 20 minutes. So that's my I'm not I'm not aware of how long it was. I can't tell you. I don't know. I don't know what 20 minutes is to other people, but I don't think it was that long. But that's that's what they're saying. Well, I thought he was in his bedroom watching Coco Melon for 20 minutes. It's okay, buddy. They're not going to take you away. Okay. I promise. It's going to be okay. I just want to All I All I know is that I'm glad that public service has helped me get my kid back in my arms. I'm glad that my neighbors helped out and I just want to move on and get the rest of my weekend with my son in because I'm just a dad who misses his little boy and I only get so much time with him. He's wellfed. We went miniature golfing yesterday. I'll I'll I'll take you through some photos in my phone which will let you know that he's a well taken care of little boy. His pajamas don't match. That's fine. That's not our concern right now. Like I can see that he's wellfed. He's not in a He doesn't live here. He's not He's not even He's my son. He I only see him part-time. If this turns into something else, I'm never going to see him again. And it's not because of any domestic issue or anything else. It's because her and her mother decided that they wanted to move to Dan with my son and say goodbye to me and take this baby and run with him. And I get them luckily because Katie, his mother, is decent enough to still let me spend time with them. I mean, how can I screw this up in three days a month or three days every two every twice a month? You know, I' I've somehow I'm somehow managed. Okay. Well, I asked you earlier how long it was and you said it. I thought it was only a few minutes. I I didn't realize he was out here that long. I don't know what who said that. They said it's been over 20 minutes. And who knows how long he was really out here because that's just when she noticed him out here. So, well, I remember when he woke up, I like I said, I thought that he was in his bedroom watching Cookamone. I could hear the the music going and as long as the song is going cuz I don't even have internet. I just use Has his pamper been changed? Uh, last night right before bed. It's 9 It's after 9:00 a.m. Right. Right. He was going to be What time did he go to bed? He went to bed about 900 p.m. 9:30. What time did he wake up? Uh, this morning about What time is it now? It's 9:20. About 8 8:15 8:30 right before he got outside. Ross, growing increasingly anxious, repeated that the child didn't live with him and that the mother lived far away. He claimed he was just trying to spend time with his son and take good care of him during the few days they had together, but that didn't match the fact that he hadn't changed the child's diaper in 12 hours. What other excuses did he have? Yeah, grandma's house. Grandma's house. So, based on the totality of the circumstances, do you mind if we just go inside, double check the welfare, the living situations? I know we don't live here. He does not live here. We were just stopped here last night and we ended up staying here. I know, but he's your child. You said you you have him for a certain amount of days. I'm not okay with that. Because of the fact that I have a dog that's not well, he smells bad. He's got an ear infection. Well, we're worried about your son, not your dog, right? Yeah. Right. So, if a child is staying here, no matter if it's for a day or if it's for six months or a few hours, there needs to be some sort of Right. We we camp out in my truck. The child. You camp out in your truck most of the time. Well, like a lot of times with him, we just hang out in my truck. I I try to spend as little time here as possible. I only meet my ex here to transfer the child on most occasions cuz it's midway. Well, because of everything that occurred today, we need to check out the welfare of the home. I don't want anyone coming in the house right now. And why is that? Because I I again, I've been staying with my parents. I normally stay with my Okay. But last night, you stayed here with the child, right? We spent a few hours here between like 10:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m. and 9:30 a.m. That's a long time. So, does he have like a bed? Yeah. Okay. Can we confirm that just the living situation of him to confirm? I carried him in and he stayed in his room. Can we confirm that he has like a proper bed? He has proper Come on. Just one of you, please. Well, there's going to be two of us at least. Lot lot of mess around here. Is that the door that he came out of? Well, I I think it's locked now. The dead. I didn't know that you all were here. You want some milk? Just hang out with him real quick. Get you some milk. I'm going to go get some milk for him. No, just milk. Just stay right there. for Christ. Come on. There we go. Ross, can you come over here for a sec? I'm in trouble. Yeah. Officers informed Ross that they would need to enter the residence to verify the conditions. Ross refused, insisting repeatedly that it didn't make sense because he didn't live there. Bit by bit, he was exposing himself, and it became painfully obvious that he was hiding something inside of the house. But what could be so serious that he didn't want officers to see? If I'm going to be in jail, buddy, come over here. I'll have to get out. Uh, I have a a key to my work vehicle. Few things to worry about. Hey, bud. Anderson, come here, buddy. Yeah, he was going to be I was going to return the dog and just what do you call that? That dog ever leave that cage? Yeah, he does. But like because he runs, he was in it. That's why we were here last night to let him out and give him food. Mhm. How far is your wife? 47 miles the land. But the grandparents live across the road. 7 miles away. They're right up the road. They'll be happy to take them. Okay. All right. We'll call both. We're going to walk over to my car, right? Okay. Just can I grab my meds? No. Has medications on this? Well, can I get my phone at least? Is this your hat on? Okay. You said you don't know where it was. No, I I It's in the house. There's probably you to jail between here and bathroom. Let's go. I'll look for it. Okay. Hey, buddy. So mad. Come on. Why are we mad? Did you see what your inside your house looks like? Hey, buddy. It's okay. Can I get a high five? Good job. Good job, bud. How about some nuts? You need some nooks. Oh, good job, dude. Good job, Anderson. Good job, buddy. Yeah. You going to sit in the cop car? You what? Here you go, buddy. I know he's going to be okay. Do you see if there's poison? Watch your head. I think I saw his cell phone in the bathroom. But that that bathroom is disgusting. I can't even take this a single step in there. No, there's nothing. But I'm we're going to snag some photos of everything in there. Okay. If you want to I know you got a good look at it, but I don't I don't see anything. Oh, I see a smile. Yes, Grandma. Hi sweetheart. Oh, thank you. I have some of his stuffed animal surf club building 318. Yeah. Okay. You want to drink it like that? Yeah, we tried. Yeah, we tried. We tried to give him and he is hungry. Yeah, he said he is hungry. I All I had was some gummies. So, I tried to give him a little bit of gummies. So, he said it was delicious. Yeah, he said it was delicious. But delicious. Yeah, it was delicious. It was delicious. You're dirty. You were You were eating dirt. Yeah. I don't know. I think he's sick. And that's probably just snob mucus. Cuz when he drank the water, it started coming up like snot. Oh, yeah. And his pamper is very soiled. So, I just wanted to let you know when you get home, that's the first order of business. Once inside, officers understood why Ross had resisted letting them in. The home was full of garbage, animal feces filth, and a severely malnourished dog with a rotting ear and patches of missing fur. There were multiple empty alcohol containers, insects swarming in stagnant toilet water, a sink full of cigarette ashes, pill bottles scattered throughout the house, and both razors and hypodermic needles within the child's reach. The home was in deplorable condition. And how could he even consider spending a day there with a 2-year-old son? I can't believe I'm glad he's okay though. They need to slow down. His mother is probably beside herself because when he was about oh maybe a month old, the dog got out and got killed right in front of her right here. Oh wow. So I'm sure that she's just beside herself because there are a lot of people that speed through this neighbor. Yeah, that's what I was I heard from the neighbor. Oh, sweetie pie. Well, who found him? The neighbors saw him. So this neighbor saw him in her yard and she was assuming that his dad was in the yard watching him and she said that was about 20 minutes cry like for about 20 minutes she saw him around and who knows how long he was out before she saw him and then they saw cars stopping and that's when she went inside to call police because she realized that he wasn't out here and they went inside and just pretty much found him passed out. Well, I haven't been in that house for months and months. I don't want to go in that house. I And if you want to it, it's up to you. Well, but I have tried to get him out before. That house is no place for a kid. No. Well, that's why they're they come to my house whenever he has c when he has him for the weekend. Okay. So, they were at my house last night and they didn't leave till midnight. Oh, well, he told us he was here from 900 p.m. 9:30 to to now. Oh, Jesus. Well, thank you. So, I'm so so grateful. So grateful that nothing has happened to him. Y'all never come to visit him here? No, I haven't been in that house for months. I Yes. In months? Months. What did it look like months ago? A disaster. Honest. That was the worst house I've ever been to high in a long time. That's Well, it's really bad in there. Very bad. The dog. Yeah. Did you know there was a dog in there? Mhm. Yeah. I tried to get him to get rid of that dog. That dog hasn't been taken care of. What? The house hasn't been taken care of. That's really bad. Well, I think for future reference, ma'am, I mean, I don't know what's going to happen now. I think for future reference though, if that's how you saw the conditions of the house when you came here before, I think probably should like notify us or something, you know. Um, well, very truthfully, uh, I'm sure Katie will file for, uh, complete custody and, uh, no visitation. got kid involved. So, I don't even know if you'll get I don't even know if Did he tell you where they were going when they left your house last night? They were going coming home to go to bed. I don't even think the bed was a place for a kid. Like, it's terrible. It's really bad, huh? Very bad. Oh, sweetheart. There's no There's like no walking. Can't walk. There's the smell in there. There's flies in there. I mean, I'm sure that house didn't just get like that over the past couple weeks, isn't it? Had to had to have been like that. Well, I told him, I said, "Get that house cleaned up." And he goes, "Oh, I am." He's got an excuse for everything. Uh, you know what? Let me go put you in your high chair or in your car seat and let's we'll do Ed's son. We need to get some mini paperwork for him or because you're Oh, he's getting the information. So, okay. Well, thank God you didn't take him to children's services. I I'll walk with you. Officers place Ross in handcuffs and immediately contact the child's grandparents so the boy could be placed in their care. It became obvious that Ross had not only failed to maintain the child's hygiene, but also neglected to feed or properly supervise him. The situation was complex and authorities needed to understand what had really taken place and whether other family members had any knowledge. Well, thank you for not sending him to children, sir. Oh, we wouldn't want to do that, especially if he has family nearby. Well, his uh mom is in St. Petersburg right now and other he usually goes to your house, so we figured let's contact you guys. Oh, yeah. He he pretty much like he stays all day with me Friday while Ross works. Okay. But we have had I can't tell you how many nights I cried myself to sleep in. Yeah. And I have tried to get him out. I took him to a rehab center and the rehab center said that until he says that he wants to be there, I can't put him in. I can't do Well, this might get him there because that house is poor. like it. Well, if they keep him in jail, I'll just get a cleaning service come over and we'll go through it. Get rid of the dog. What? So, usually I'm going to set this inside. So, usually what happens in a lot of cases with people that are abusing alcohol, and that's if that even presents itself to the judge, they're going to they usually court order him to go. Yes. They get court ordered to go to get help. And if he does get released on bond or whatever, we're not paying any bond if we're releasing and let him stay there. So if he does get court ordered or if the judge decides whatever they decide, he will have random year analysis and things like that. He'll probably be on probation because they have to keep track of what you're doing like what you're doing. If you're drinking, if you're He has needles, open needles in there. He he uh like Yeah. and reach that he can grab. Like there's it's ridiculous. Broken glass bottle like glass bottles. It's I am not kidding you. There's a a sink full like literally it's an ashtray that there's like a mount of cigarette butts and ashes to like and I'm not over exaggerating. It's literally like a mountain. Like the sink is full of nothing but ashes and cigarette butts. There's literally piles of stuff every like there's no walkway. Like you have to kick things out of the way to walk through. The every shower in there is dry. Bone dry. No, no water. The toilet has no water in it. Like there's nothing. There's dog. The dog itself is horrendous. It's It's ridiculous in there. The baby beds are it's bad. I've never seen a house like that. And he didn't want us to go in at first. We were like, "But we need to verify that this baby has a room, a bed, somewhere to stay." I have I haven't been in that house for months and months. Yeah. He didn't have a choice but to let us in. And when he was like, "Okay, sure." We walked in and it was like, "You're going to jail." He sent the own. He sent me pictures of supposedly he had cleaned up that house. Oh no, man. And uh there were bags and bags and bags of stuff out here and that was supposedly after they had cleaned it up. I he has been a handful. Officers informed the child's grandmother that according to witnesses, Ross had been found earlier that morning passed out under the influence of alcohol. This revelation began a conversation that brought to light several lies that Ross had told the police. He had been with his son at the house since the night before and had hidden everything from his family. From the appalling state of the home to the emotional state that had led him to live under such a condition. How could he let his health and his child's care get so bad? He's been a handful for for years. And when Katie left, he just completely went off the deep end. Completely went off the deal. And some people like that, they just I mean, I know he loves his son. Oh, he loves his son. He loves his son. So, this might be Anderson loves him. Yes, he does. You love daddy? Do you love daddy? I know. Here, let me get in your face. What's that about? Sign all the paperwork. Do we need to sign anything? I don't think so. They got your information. We're just going to notate that we released 10 to your care and DCF may be in contact with you all just to confirm. All right. Okay. You're going to have to go and try to go. I don't want to go see. So, we're going to still be here cuz animal control has to come and get the dog. I got to take the dog back to where he came from. Yeah. Because that's another thing that's Well, I know that he paid $800 vet bill and he just doesn't have the money and I said take that dog back. Yeah. No, that dog has been neglected. It was a feral dog. Yeah, that dog. He Nothing about him looks feral right now. We walked in and he doesn't even move when we like, you know, really feral dog. They'll bark and growl and No, he just looks at us like helpless. Please help me. I had that dog and I fell and broke two vertebrae and a rib and Ross thought it was because of the dog. That dog is the sweetest, lovingest dog. And because all the dog's hair shedded, matted up, like literally like layers of hair. There's like I guess like puppy pads or something in the cage. A whole like mountains of them in the cage. The dog is in the cage. I don't believe that dog has left that cage. Let's talk detail. He needs to be he distracted from my son. He has needed help. He's going he's going to have to get it. And because at this point it's going to be poor because of his age. He he can't nobody can do anything without his consent. Yeah. Well, I'm glad that he's going to get some help. Yeah. I'm very happy that he's cuz this may be an eye openener for him seeing that he's going to have to straighten out his life to even be able to see his son, you know, and that we don't it I hate to for it to be like this because of the child, but we were wondering what do we do? What do we do? What do we do? And I'm just like, you won't let me in that house. I haven't been in that house for probably a year. Yeah. Hey, you wearing this? Is it dirt or you look like you have a swollen lip? Let me see. You know the grandma will just go ballistic. She She's a pit hole. [Music] It was hard to believe the conditions inside the home and the way in which Ross had been living there. Clearly, he had ignored not only the seriousness of his own condition, but also the health and safety of his son. He needed help with his alcohol issues, and authorities will likely arrange for support to address his substance abuse. Ross Judy, age 44, would be arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm, and with abandoning an animal, resulting in death, illness, disability, or risk of disability. He faces potential prison time, probation, or restitution depending on the circumstances of the offense and his criminal