I'm going to lose my kids. There's something I got to ask. There's something I got to ask about my kids. Sit down. Thank you. I'm not about to keep playing these childish games. Okay. Yeah. But here's the thing though, like your your kids. You can't just abandon your kids outside and knock on the door and then run away. And I'm in a corner and the baby run run run ran across the street. That's my look look at me. Yeah. So I said that the baby wasn't there. So I throw my car in the eye and stop my car and go. Everyone knows parenting is hard. But there's no excuse to fully neglect a child. From mothers who daydrink while their kids are at home to parents leaving their kids on people's doorsteps. This is what happens when good cops rescue kids abandoned by heartless parents. Do you realize it's been probably at least 45 minutes by now? Are you serious? Yeah, it's been at least 45 minutes. I let him go out there all the time. You still got to keep your eye on him and check on him. On February 16th, 2021, officers were dispatched due to a report of a small child found alone in a roadway. At the time, the child was moving toward a hightraic area. You guys haven't seen him in the neighborhood before. You don't know where he might live? I've never seen him either. dog offering up a name or any other Hey, buddy. Hi. What you got? You got sticks. What's your name? Well, we stopped and talked to the We thought it was the workers cuz there there was a guy that was here before us. Um, a lawn care guy. Yeah. He just stopped right before us. He just Yeah. A little bit before us. And he's like free dog, free kid. So you found you saw him first or who saw him first? The guy left. But you drove by after the fact. He pulled up and he was like, "Who's this?" We don't know who this does. So we So then we thought maybe it was somebody over here so we knocked on their door. The officer first made an attempt to talk to the child directly. She wanted to figure out if he could point her to his house so she could take him home safely. However, she ended up receiving a tip from one of the witnesses whom she spoke to earlier on. Hey bud. Oh, don't touch that. I don't want you to get hurt. Can you tell me what your name is? Is that a plant? Yeah. Is this your doggy over here? The dog is still protecting. The dog knows waiting for somebody to come. Can you tell me what your name is? Do you know how old you are? You know, I think I've seen that kid before and I think he lived way down the street. Do you know like what the house looks like or anything like that? No, because I think I've seen him out with some other people's kids. Okay. Cuz my son lives over on Beverly. Okay. So, you think somewhere down past the culde-sac? I think down past the culde-sac. Okay. I appreciate that. Only a wag. Okay. You know what a wag is, right? No. Wild guess. You're good. We're We'll figure it out. If anything, we're going to end up calling DCF, but I'm going to wait for another deputy and we'll start knocking on some doors and figure it out. The officer stayed with the child at the house of the witnesses while another officer went door to door searching for the child's parents. While making small talk with the couple, the child's grandmother drove by the area. When she saw the police car, she immediately knew the child was there. She explained that his mother had called her Anakin. Hello, boy. Is he He got He got out through a gate. Okay. Where do you guys live? She lives down there. What? What's the address? What's the address? I don't I think it's I could be wrong. What? Uh Yes. Right down around the corner. She's down there. She's pregnant. She's freaking out. Is it 38? I think it might. Yeah. Okay. That Yes, that's our dog. That's our dog, too. 145. She just went out the check because he plays in the backyard. It's all fenced in. Apparently, the dog has done a hole under the fence and that's how he got out. Are you going back to the residence? Yes. Okay. Um, you have a car seat for him? Yes, I do. Okay. You can put him in the car seat and we'll follow you back to the residence. Okay. Okay. While the grandmother loaded the child and dog into the car, the officer prepared to follow her to the residence. While they waited for the victim and his grandmother to arrive, another officer talks with the mother of the child and questions how she could be so negligent. Who's Whose kid is it? He's mine. He's your baby? Yes. Okay. All right. He's safe. Okay. All right. Okay. How long do you think it's been? I don't my house. So, I let him go back all the time and play and I have the door open, you know, and you know, our fence is we have a fence and I went over to check on him. He was out there playing with the dog and then I I didn't see him. So, when I walk around and I see that the panel is missing, he knocked the panel out. What color is your house? Um, it's blue. Light blue. Okay. Um, you realize it's been probably at least 45 minutes by now. Are you serious? Yeah, it's been at least 45 minutes. I let him go out there all the time. You still got to keep your eye on him and check on him once in a while and go. And that's being easy. It's probably really going closer to an hour. Oh my god. What do you not like check on them every I do. I do, but I'm just so used to letting you go out there and play. I've never had an issue. Footage from inside the home has been redacted, but the arrest report described the interior as severely neglected with a strong odor of the child's mother admitted to illegally smoking. Additionally, the backyard held many hazards for young children, including rusty nails, large rocks, and a trampoline. We were paycheck paycheck. We ain't money. You know what I mean? So, but yeah, that scared the out of me when I pull up. What the hell is two cops doing? Yeah. So essentially we're here because he was in the roadway. Okay. A few pe a good Samaritan staffed. They stood out with him for a while. They called us. I stood out with him for a little while until we were able to figure out this is where he, you know, lives and all the information. He's three. So he he couldn't give me his name or anything like that, which is typical. I understand that. Um. Right. He can count to 20 and knows his ABCs. Yeah. He know colors. Yeah. Oh, yeah. He knows all his colors. Again, I was a stranger to him, too, so he might not be open to talk. I understand that. But again, so now we just kind of have to figure out he's back inside. you know, he's in good health and everything like that. I just want to make sure that we're doing a thorough job and, you know, obviously we do have to do a DCF notification. Doesn't mean it's the end of the world. We do a lot of DCF notifications. Um, again, I went back around back to see where he got out of and stuff like that. So, that's why I'm asking several holes um on this side and this side that whole fence fell down and they could go through the damn fence. Those panels are so loose, you know, I mean, tried to do what I could. I don't have the money right now. The officer mentioned that the Department of Children and Families would need to be involved since the child was found far from the house. After ranting about losing custody of his first child, the father seemed to take this as a personal insult to himself as a parent. I know you guys got to do a job. UCF comes to my house and we tell them go theirelves warm. We got to tell them if I got to pack my kids up and leave to another state because of this. That's what I'll do. I I take care of my kids. N I understand. We're not we're not I'm not placing blame on anybody that I am late. I mean, we do have to do a DCF. Yeah, that's fine. Like I said, if I wasn't here, I'm a good father. I know what I'm doing. Um I've raised raised three of them on my own. My dad passed away when I was 19. So, I I ain't got nothing else to say. Like I said, if they need to come here, I'll tell them property and they got crime with it. I I'll leave state. After letting the angry father cool off for a little while, the female officer returns to speak with the mother of the child. She wasted no time with the arrest, but did her best to be gentle and fair since the woman was pregnant. All right. So, Tessy, essentially, you are going to be placed under arrest today. Okay. Oh my god. For a while, this is for child neglect. All right. So, do me a favor. I've never even been to How far along are you? I'm like 13 weeks. 13 weeks. Okay. All right. You've been cooperative with me so far. Do you want me to cuff you in the front? Are you okay with that? So, I do have to cuff you. So, are you okay with the front? Okay. Okay. Just put your hands together just like this. There you go. Can I go my Say that again. Can I call my mom? I'll try and figure out something. Okay, we'll make sure that Do you have anything on you when you're talking? I'm going to walk you to my patrol vehicle right here. Okay, I talk to the airport. Well, I'll learn from talk to you in a second. Okay. The woman was arrested for child neglect. She was sentenced to 18 months of probation during which she was required to complete a parenting class, stop her use of elicit drugs and alcohol, and undergo random drug tests. On February 16th, 2024, after getting off of work, a father discovered that his 16-month-old baby and his seven-year-old stepson had been left alone at home. Apparently, the mother of the children had abandoned them to go out and have drinks with a male friend of hers. I'm just going to swear you in, and then you're going to tell me what happened. All right, just raise your right hand. Just state your name. Emerson. All right, put your hand down. Just tell me what happened tonight. So, I arrived at home around 10:00. Around 10:00. um entered the apartment, heard the baby crying and went into the bedroom, saw the baby was in the crib, and um my steps on the seven-year-old trying to console her. Thought maybe, you know, my wife was in the bathroom or something. I got her a bottle and I said, "Where's where's mom?" And he said, "She left." I said, "Are you sure?" Like she's not taking the trash out or something. He said, "No, she left." I said, "When?" He said, "I don't know." I looked at my text messages. I mean, I normally would be getting home now. I was done early. Okay. Um, everything happens for her. Yeah. Um, the last contact that I had with her was like maybe quarter after 8. She had texted me asking for Thomas's our son's remote for his uh TV. That's your stepson, right? Yeah. Okay. Um, I didn't see the text or anything like I run a restaurant. So, yeah, you were busy. The father was living every parent's nightmare to come home and find a small child trying to comfort a baby because their other parent had abandoned them. Since his stepson was not present for the interview, the man explained where the boy had been. How was the 7-year-old? Um, so I contacted his father. Okay. Um, his father instructed me to bring him to his grandparents who are staying at an Airbnb down the street. Where are they staying? No. Was Remy crying when she was crying? Yeah. Was her diaper changed? Uh, no. Okay. Yeah. And she was sick also, so she had like snot all over. Okay. Now, this is the other father, correct? Yeah. He's a firefighter. Can I just click his name to get his phone number? Yeah. So, why did he not call? I told him not to contact her and told him don't have her your parents contact her because I wanted So where is he right now? Where again? I believe so. Yeah. Okay. All right. Just raise your right hand. Is everything you told me the truth? Yes. Okay. The father of the baby, Emerson, informed the officer that his wife had been struggling with alcohol addiction and his number one priority was her mental health. However, her actions still had consequences. To verify that his story was correct, the officer called the father of the seven-year-old to get some more information. Is this Tom? Okay. You have a son named Thomas also correct? Who is seven? Okay. Now, I am being told you got a phone call today about him being left. Okay. Are you at the address in West Palm? No, right now. No, I'm at work. What happened tonight? Yeah, man. He called me. He observed it. They were home alone and they were both awake. Okay. Now, have you spoken to your parents who had your child? Now, did they say he had any injury or was distraught or anything of that nature? No, I did. I spoke to him on the phone. Okay. He was so Okay, perfect. So, I just wanted to touch base with you because obviously she is going to be arrested. Okay. Obviously, I do have to contact DCF in regards to this obviously. So, they might be reaching out to you, but other than that, that's going to be it for right now. Yeah, that's fine. All right. You have any questions? Did you like Did you find her? For right now, she's at the bar. Okay. Yeah. I mean, she's at the bar. She Yeah. All right. All right. Have a good night. You're welcome. After a few hours of searching, the officers were able to locate the irresponsible mother, Courtney, at a local bar. In order to take her by surprise, the officers waited patiently until she got out of her vehicle. Since they intended to surround her, there would be no chance of her escaping. Turn around. Coming. Keep coming. He's coming. He's coming. What's happening? You're okay. Keep coming back towards us. Come over to the right. What's happening? Courtney, right? Yeah. What's happening? You got anything on you? No. All right. You're being arrested. Child neglect. Where my husband? I'll explain everything to you. Anything in your bra? I don't think so. Who is this guy? Who? Who is the guy that you're with? A friend of mine. Okay. What's going on? Please save my car and I real. In order to question Courtney, the officers read her Miranda rights. She claimed to understand most of her rights except the last one. Because of that, the officer did not proceed in questioning her. However, this did not stop her from drunkenly talking. Anyway, I don't even know what happened. You were 16 baby alone. My husband was home. He was not home. Okay. Well, I myself [Music] you'll just be alone naked in a cell. That's what you're going to say. I am going to be alone in a cell. Yeah, if you're suicidal, you'll be alone in a cell with no clothes to make sure you don't hurt yourself. So, you're rejecting me like mental health care. You'll get it at the jail. You must not have much patience with mental health, do you? What? What? I'm like mentally like out here like I need to be in a hospital. Well, well, what? Get the hell out of jail. Wow. When you get out, hopefully you continue to get help. I didn't do anything wrong. I just want to go home. I'm not trying to go to jail, dude. How many times have you been arrested? Too many times, bro. What? Some dumb. I'm a addict and I'm struggling. You got arrested for Yeah, that's not good. Your kids are wrong. I got arrested on child life. Like, I'm not trying to do that again. Shout out to the nononsense officer for refusing to fall for Courtney's victim complex. Courtney was using every trick in the book to get the officer to feel bad for her. But what didn't help was the fact that she had been arrested for child neglect in the past. The next morning, the cops interviewed the 7-year-old boy, Thomas. Thomas, I just want to talk to you. Okay. You want to sit? How old are you? Oh, so you're smart. What do you want to be when you get older? Firefighter. Like daddy. You know you're not in trouble, right? Yeah. Are you scared? No. You nervous right now? No. All right, good. You're brave for coming to talk to me. You were at mommy's yesterday. Yeah. You have a little sister? You like having a little sister? Kind of. Kind of. So, what happened at mommy's? She was like going somewhere. I was by myself. Okay. Do you know how long you were by herself for? 30 minutes or an hour or something. 30 minutes or an hour? Yeah. What did you do when mommy left? Did mommy tell you where she was going? No, I don't remember. That's okay. You'll have to remember. Were you scared when mommy left? No. You were able to take care of yourself? I know you're big. All right, that's it. I'm done. Do you have any questions for me? You're really brave. You're a great big brother. Courtney was charged with child neglect. When she gets out of jail, her best course of action is to continue to seek treatment for her substance abuse and make amends with her children. On January 23, 2025, officers responded to a traffic crash at an intersection. Witnesses reported that a woman made a wide turn and struck a curb. While officers anticipated a normal accident report, what unfolded was so much worse. Hey, do you have one that's uh more current? I know you dropped one. Is it This one is from Dece June of December 24th. Do you have one in your name too or no? Yeah, I saw the name. Let me take a look at the other cards. Okay. Can you want to see if he can send you a picture? Um, I'll give it back to you for now. Yeah. No. Is he at home? He's not. I I don't have like my phone at all. Okay. All right. Okay. All right. Just sit tight for a minute. I can give you my like I didn't get the phone. What do you mean? For him? Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead. You want me to tell him that you're okay and I just need the insurance? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I can do that. The officer suspected something was off with the woman, Melissa. The way she was confused and slurring her speech was a little concerning, and the officer wasn't going to take any chances about letting her drive home while intoxicated. Can you turn the car off for me? Yes. Okay. All right. So, you're coming from Prairie. From Prairie. And that's where you live. Yeah. Okay. And you have kids at home? I do. Okay. How old are your kids? Two and three. Who's with them right now? My husband. Your husband. Okay. Okay. You said he was at work, but he's at home. Yeah. He works from home. Oh, got it. Okay. Does he know that you left? Yeah. Okay. All right. Uh, what were you doing before you came out here? You're at home? Okay. What were you doing at home? The kids. Just with the kids today in the family. Okay. Have you had anything to drink today? No, sir. No. Any you recreational smoke or anything like that? No. Nothing. Do you take any prescription medication? No. I mean like what prescription? Like anything that Do you take anything? Like a sanex? No, no. Like anything that they tell you to be careful if you're driving or operating heavy machinery? Nothing like that. Okay. All right. Um, what's your highest level of education? Um, bachelors. Bachelor's degree. You have college? Yeah. Okay. Melissa's confusion and scrambled stories heighten the officer's suspicion that she was under the influence of some type of substance. According to protocol, the officer must conduct field sobriety tests to confirm if someone is intoxicated. So, that's what he did. So, I'm going to ask you to do two things for me. Okay, the first one I want you to say the alphabet for me. I want you to start at E and I want you to end at W without singing. Okay? E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T V W X Y Z. Okay. All right. And then for counting, I want you to start at the number 67 and I want you to count backwards down to 43. Okay? 67 66 65 63 64 63 62 64 60 69 58 57 56 59 54 53 52 52 51 50 49 58 57 56 54 52 51 50 49 48 57 46 49 48 25 44 43 42 81 4 Do you remember what I asked you to stop at? I don't 43. Okay. The officer then conducted the horizontal gaze nestagmus test or HGN test. This test involves the officer moving his finger from side to side and the suspect should follow his finger with only her eyes. The suspect is not supposed to move her head, which is difficult when intoxicated. So, I'm going to start out. Just look at my finger. Just a tip. Don't turn your head. There you go. All right. Can you see my finger clearly? Yeah. Okay. All right. That's just to help you so you just kind of get an idea on how it feels. Okay. All right. [Music] your chin for you. You go. Yeah. Again. Don't move your chin. Melissa did relatively well on the HGN test and only wobbled a bit on the straight line test which came after. However, the officer needed to be completely sure she was sober before letting her back on the road by conducting one final test. Stand just like this. When I say begin, you're going to pick a foot, either foot of your choosing. You're going to raise it 6 in off the ground. You are going to look at your toe of the raised foot. You're going to count out loud in the following manner. 1,00 1,002 1,003 and so on until I tell you to stop. Okay. All right. Are you ready? All right. Back up and keep going. 100,002 100 34 1006 1007. I'm okay. No, no, it's okay. No, it's okay. No, no, no. It's okay. It's okay. Are you hurt? No, I'm not hurt. Don't put your hands in your pocket. No, it's okay. Put your foot back down. I have a question for you. Okay. I'm going to be very honest with you. Okay. Have you had anything to drink today? Nothing. Zero. Okay. Have you taken any anything that's in Have what? What you have? I have snakes and I have like new stabilizers and I have So, you're on medication right now? Yes. As if the officer wasn't thorough before. Now that he caught Melissa in a lie, he asked her to do a breathalyzer test, which could yield a stronger confirmation that she was drunk. So, Alyssa, okay, it's cold out here. I know you're cold. I know they're cold. I need an answer. Yes or no? Yes. Deep breath. Blow. Blow. Blow. Blow. Blow. Blow. Blow. Blow. Blow. Blow. Blow. Blow. Good job. Thank you. All right. So, see the limit in Illinois is 08. All right. You are a 207. We're supposed to be a 08 two and a half times. Please turn around behind your back. The NRS. It was no surprise to the officers that Melissa's breathalyzer result was almost three times over the legal limit since she had shown obvious signs of intoxication. What they didn't see coming was what she revealed while she was in the back seat of the cruiser. Melissa, correct? I have to do a search before I carry it. My husband isn't home with my kids. He's not. Where is he? He's working. He's working. Okay. We'll try to give him a call and see where No one is working. No one's home with their kids. Where's your kids at right now? Okay. We'll see. We'll see what we can do to uh accommodate until your husband gets there. Um in the meantime, just like I said, we have we have extra people if you want. Thanks. Do you have a house key? Um, yes. In my Um, was it was it one of these by chance? Yes, probably. Is your house key? Yes. Okay. If you went through my gate, you would probably get to my kids. The gate. Um, I have a white gate. Okay. Um, and if you went through there, the back door, that's how you get into my house. Okay. The back door, you said. Yeah. Um, and I have two dogs, but ignore them. Um, do they bite? No, they don't. The two kids are probably asleep, though. Melissa was charged with driving under the influence, endangering the life of a child and traffic offenses. This mother has surely learned a hard lesson about the dangers of daydrinking while her children are alone at home. On October 8th, 2021, officers were dispatched to a hotel in response to reports of an intoxicated woman who had left her kids alone on the night of her best friend's wedding. All right. What What's going on? Cuz there's a bunch of people here. Different I walked out and they already called you guys. Um so she actually tell you better what happened. All right. Let me try to figure out what the heck's going on. What's going on? So, um, our friend Brian Spain, uh, her boyfriend rolled up with her three kids that weren't invited and he threw the kids at her and she's drunk, can't drive, he's a drug dealer, she's drunk, and, uh, we don't want the kids to go home with them. So, that's what's happening. He dipped on. I know. Is there anybody here? I have no idea. The kids are here. Three kids are inside. I think that's her right here by the vehicle down. Both him and her left. It looks like It looks like they got her right there. I know. trying to figure out. Okay. They left their kids here. Yes. He is on foot. Walk inside. Okay. Or Yeah. Yeah. Okay. We're trying to figure out. Just give us a few minutes. Yeah. Yeah. We're going to go back inside. Yeah. Go enjoy your go enjoy your wedding. Just the hotel soft news. They can grab us if they need the kids. Okay. Thank you guys. Appreciate it. Go try to have some fun. Since it wasn't clear how old the children were or how long they had been left alone at the hotel, the officers acted swiftly to find the mother of the children, Mickey. They were able to locate her relatively quickly and asked her some questions. We got a call about a concern about your the condition that you're in that you left your children here. Um, some people called in and said you're extremely intoxicated and drove away. So, my name is Officer Gillicuy. Okay. So, I'm just here to talk to you about what's going on tonight. So, can you tell me what's going on with the kids? No. What? What's that? No. Step out of the car. Go to the front of the car. All right. How much have you had a drink for? Step to the front of the car. Do you have your ID on you? Do you have a driver's license? You don't have a driver's license at all? Um, will you run the tag for me? I did already. It comes back at him to some guy. All right. What's your social? Some guy. This is my car. What's your answer his questions? What's your social? You don't think I own this car? What's your social? No. Find out if you don't identify who you are, you're going to go to jail for obstruction. Okay. What? You're Are you Mickey Deal? See, you already know who I am. Okay. But I ran you in the I ran you in the driver's license this morning and I can't find you. I am. I'm not. Okay. So, here's the thing. You have toident shut your mouth until until I ask you a question. You have to identify to me who you are right now. Mickey was refusing to identify herself, but the officers were trying to make the process as efficient as possible. They tried searching her car for her ID, but couldn't find it. They ran into a dead end since all they could find was mail with different names on it. All right, ma'am. So, here's the thing. You are displaying many, many indicators of possible impairment. I'm conducting a DUI investigation. DUI investigation. Are you willing to do some field sobriety exercises? All right. Refusing to do the DUI exercises as I've lawfully requested will force me to make a DUI arrest decision based on the totality of the circumstances and everything I've observed up to this point and your refusal to participate in the exercises will force me to make a DUI arrest decision right now and can be used against you under a court of law. All right. Will you do the exercises? No. Turn around. And arrest for DUI and obstruction and child neglect. Is there someone here for your children? Is there anybody here for your children? Jupiter traffic 25. Can I make a phone call? No, not right now. Let's go and have her uh let's go to the front of my car while I try to figure out who she is. Come on. Shut up. You're going to take care of my kids. You're not taking care of your kids. You're going to take care of my kids, bro. You're not taking care of your kids. You're going to take care of my kids, bro. What kind of mother are you? You leave your kids. I was What kind of mother are you? You leave your kids to bad mother, I guess. The officer continued to call her out for leaving her children alone to get drunk. As she was being arrested, she insisted on putting up a fight. Meanwhile, one of the women who made the call arrived to check on the situation. Do you even know who your kids are with right now? Huh? Do you even know who your kids are with right now? No. It's in my car. Don't touch me. Don't Don't jerk away from me. Don't talk to me like that. Don't jerk away from me. Don't me like that. Listen. Listen to me. Listen to me. This is about to go. Stop it. Stop it. Relax. I don't want to hurt you, but you're about to get there. Stop it. What's that? We're trying to figure that out. Do they come at night? Like, how does that work? Cuz I know DC sucks. Well, we need to right now we need to find like a parent or a guardian. We My understanding is that there was a male involved here. Correct. He left on foot. Is he the dad? Uh, no. But is he like, is he a caretaker of the children? He was watching them during the wedding. He got mad. She was having a good time. Came, threw the kids at her, left. They were fighting in a parking lot. She was trying to take the kids. I wasn't having it. This is not okay. I can't take the kids. We're fighting. It's out. Okay. This has happened multiple times. I know. We were three little kids. We hooked up. The female witness seemed to know Mickey pretty well and obviously did not think highly of her. The officers asked her a few more questions about Mickey's history and about the father of the children. Meanwhile, in the back of the police car, Mickey was throwing a temper tantrum over being arrested for her negligence. So, she was clean for a very long time and started using gentlemen. Um, no, absolutely not. She just seems very Yeah, she So right now we got to figure out ma'am. Ma'am, stop call. Ma'am, stop. Stop. Stop cut. Stop kicking the window on my car. Call Andrew. The guy that threw the kids. After a while, a female officer arrived at the hotel to conduct a search on Mickey with her being identified by the witness as a substance user. The officers had to take every precaution during the search. Mickey didn't like this too much and continued with her loud antics. All right, we understand your possible heroes. Do you have any needles on you? Are you serious? We don't want to get stuck, ma'am. Do you have any No, you're about to catch this. Stop. Now, stop yelling. Okay. Hey, listen. Don't turn around. Somebody needs to bail me out. This is not okay, dude. Don't turn around like that. Do not turn around like that. Ma'am, stop. Hey, relax. Relax. Spread your feet for me, please. Mickey, you're making this worse. Mickey, spread your feet for me, please. Don't spread your feet. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Spread your feet for me, please. Mickey, spread your feet. Mickey, spread your feet. Spread your feet. Harver, stand by for a second while I get a bag out of my phone. Somebody better. No, she's telling me child. I came up to get my kids. You ma'am, you're in no condition to drive. Yeah, I know. You still have to follow our instruction. My best friend's wedding. I'm getting arrested, dude. Imagine how she feels feels, dude. That would be a rusty. As if Mickey was in any position to receive favors from the officers, she begged him to park her car to avoid being towed. Though he refused, some bystanders agreed to park it for her. As part of the DUI process, the officer needed Mickey's physical ID card and instructed the bystanders to look around the car for it. I'm going to lose my key. Mickey, there's something I got to ask. Mickey, there's something I got to ask about my kids. Sit down. Thank you. [Music] I ass have to read you something legally, so I need you to listen to me. Okay. All right. You've been placed under lawful arrest for DUI. I'm I'm now requesting you to submit to a lawful test of your breath. For the purpose of determining the alcohol content, will you submit to a breath test? No. If you fail to submit to the test that I requested of you, your privilege shop in a motor vehicle will be suspended for a period of one year for a first refusal or 18 months. If your privilege has been previously suspended to submit to a lawful test, your breath of blood Mickey, I need you to listen to this. You you will be my driving. You will be you'll be you'll be committing a misdemeanor. Refusal Mickey, listen. Refusal to submit to the test I requested of you is admissible in the evidence in any criminal proceeding. Will you take a breath test? Okay. Refusal. Get off of me. No. So, right now you're under arrest for felony child neglect. Felony child neglect. They're with my friends. Who are they with? Are you my best friend in 20 years? Murphy as a breath. I'm getting arrested for child. My friends over 20 years. After being searched, Mickey was transported to prison. However, while she was getting out of the car, the officer noticed that she had sustained an injury to the head. After determining that she needed medical care, she made a big deal about going to the hospital. All right, Mickey, can you slide across? Where are you bleeding from? I don't know. I can't see my face, dude. I don't know. Did you hit your head on something? I don't know. Okay, we'll come in here and we'll take a look at it. Anything for you, officer? Cuz I neglect my children cuz I drink. Did you fall? I don't know. Put your feet out first. I know what to do. No, I know. I'm just I'm just saying I don't neglect my children. I know, but just watch. What do you mean, you know? So why are you charging me with like neglect? Bro, I just said watch. These are my kids. This is serious. So, let's listen. We We have to go to the hospital. This is my kids. My guess is you did that banging your head on my cage. Okay. So, let's go. We have ma'am. We have to go. I take care of my kid. Please sit down. We have to go to the hospital. I got drunk. Okay. Take care of my It's a wedding. I'm right. Ma'am. Ma'am, please sit down. I told you. Ma'am, this is why I told you to stop banging your head on my cage. Okay, cuz now you have a Now you have an eye cut. Mickey was charged with three counts of child neglect, DUI, disorderly intoxication, and two counts of resisting an officer. On January 10th, 2025, officers were dispatched to a residence following a report of a mother, Zeia, dropping her kids off at the owner's doorstep and speeding away. The owner is the sister of the children's father. So, what is the circumstances with her dropping off the kiddos here? So, I haven't spoke with Zia since what, May. She dropped the kids off at their dad's job. He took them back to her. They did a wellness check. She chased him in traffic. I saw this on video, chat. She chased him in traffic with the kid. I don't know if the kids were in the car. Yeah. Chase Chased him in traffic. Went and got the kids and I'm asleep. He said, "Somebody's banging at your door." Yeah. I was sitting in the room. We was just I was She was literally falling asleep and I heard like a consistent knock. Okay. And I was like, "Somebody's knocking at the door." So then we both got up and she went to the window right here and was like she she seen who it was and was like you you're not supposed to be here. And she's like backing away, tell your brother to come get the kids, takes off running and backs out backs out the entire she didn't drive at all. She backed out the entire parking lot and then spent. She never went in here. Never came in. No. Where were the where were the kids at? Sitting on my front porch right in front of the door soon as we open the door. They had bags. They had bags and all three of them in car seats. The children's other aunt was on the phone and said she was willing to take the kids and the officers obliged. While they waited for her to pick up the children, one officer placed a call to Zia's mother who eventually arrived at the scene. Additionally, child protective services was called. Hello, this is Officer Boy with the Federal Police Department. So, uh, we're here with your grandbabies and we're trying to get this all situation, uh, sorted out. Uh, situation is the kids were left at their auntie's house, correct? the youngest one, the one that's um sleeping, the one that has the cleft lip and they had uh the baby, she has a feeding tube, correct? So, our concern right now is that uh she needs to be fed. When do you know when the last time that she was fed? I don't mean to interrupt you. I want to make sure that the little the little baby is medically okay. And then how often how often does she need to be fed during uh via the feeding tube? Fed on a feeding tube every 3 hours. When I hit it 145 coming right up on it. Why are you not grabbing the mother's information? Oh, my partners aren't grabbing all that. So, this is my portion of the investigation. What are you investigating, sir? That the children was dropped off with their auntie. It sounds like your daughter dropped uh the kids off over here and then took off. So he was supposed to have the kids, then he dropped them off. Your daughter came, picked them up, and then dropped them off over here. Well, so she's not here taking care of the kids right now. So that is our number one concern. Zia's mother was unwilling to come and pick up her grandchildren. The woman also refused to identify herself or her daughter. While it was confirmed that Zia was going to come pick up her kids, the children's father eventually arrived before her. No, grandma's not coming. Z. She is, but uh we are going to place under under arrest for a child abandonment. So uh she will not be coming inside. Uh myself and another officer are going to wait out there for her. Um officer Palmer is going to finish the report statement with you. Okay. Dina and her father just arrived on scene. Why did she drop those folks off here? What's the deal? What's going on? What's up? What does he What does he say? What does he do? She didn't say anything. I got a call from Tamasa saying that my kids are here. Yeah. And I left the kids at their grandma's, but she's not even our relative anymore, right? And like she like she said, they they have a case. Why she brought them here, I have no idea. The children's father continued to deny any knowledge of why the children's mother would have abandoned the kids. He mentioned that the last time he saw her was when she dropped the kids off at his workplace and that he had no idea where she could have been. However, the officers were able to call Zia. Hello. This is officers cuz I Hey, real quick. Just let you know you're on speaker and my body cam is recording our conversation. Are you aware of that? Yeah, that's fine. I don't even care. You don't care? Okay. Uh can you tell me like what what happened? Like what's the deal? Like what? Their dad is supposed to have them and I'm really at the point where like I just don't understand why everyone wants to force me to be a parent and not call their dad. They're supposed to have them. Okay. So, dad So, Dad was at work, correct? Yes, Dad was at work. Dad said he didn't get off until 11. I dropped the kids off right before he got off to work. That's what pissed him off. Instead of waiting till he got off at 11, I dropped them off early. So, So, can you tell me about like why do you drop off the kids here at Glen Park Apartments? Because that's where he said he was going. Uh, I'm not about to keep playing childish games. Okay. Yeah. But here's the thing though, like your your kids, you can't just abandon your kids outside and knock on the door and then run away. Zia sounded like she was in no rush to get to the scene as she told the officer she needed to stop for gas. The officer advised her that the 10-month-old's feeding tube wasn't working and that the fire department was at the scene trying to ensure the child was fed. Where? She's got like a like a feeding tube thing going on. Yeah. Is the clamp a clamp? It's not working. Okay, hang on. Put your hands behind your back. Okay. Yeah. Why are both y'all? You're under arrest for abandonment. I'm under arrest for abandonment. Yep. Who did I abandon? All of your children. Children. I left them with their dad. No, you didn't. Are you kidding me? I left them with their family. I'm going to jail for abandonment. Yep. You're going to go. Whoa. Hold the law. That [ __ ] is taking who? Their dad's here and you're telling me he can't do the clamp problems. Also, uh you're suspended about third degree. So, you're also arrested for suspended in the third degree. Yeah, you're unable to drive. So, what the what about my left or right? So, who's going to park my Let's do Let's do uh let's do Oh, what the Okay, spread your feet. That's fine. All right. My mom will be in jail on Monday. It's the weekend. What do you mean Monday? It's It's the weekend. Do you have anything? There's no court tomorrow. Tomorrow's Friday. Yes, it's Today is Friday. I have work, so that's why you guys had me come here. Well, dad's here and uh the baby is in dire need to go to the hospital right now. As the female officer was trying to secure Zeia in the back of the police unit, the male officer asked everyone else involved to hang back in order to avoid any unnecessary interaction with the suspect. However, once it seemed like Zia would be easily detained, she decided to be dramatic and cause a scene. You were doing my handshake, you stupid. What the hell are you doing? I sure did. Okay. Well, now it's felony. That's fine. Sick. Okay. For no reason going to push me in the car like that. I don't care. She's fine. Yep. I didn't hit her that hard. I pushed her off of me. I pushed her off of me. the what I said she was being aggressive towards me. Nope. Trying to get you in the car. You can't be kicking officers. I was getting in the car. She had my cuffs. You guys are being a ridiculous. No, we have body. Am I supposed to get in? Yes. And you can see she had my cuffs. Like I said, how am I going to get in the car? You have my c You can't be taking cops like that. That's fine. She has no reason to be aggressive towards me. I'm not being mean or aggressive towards nobody. So be torture. You have no reason. Like I said, be aggressive towards you. Zia was charged with child abandonment and assault on a law enforcement officer. The children were released to their father's custody. On Christmas Day of 2024, police received a call about a 1-month-old baby who had been abandoned in a median of a busy road. The baby was reported to have only been wearing a diaper in extremely cold temperature. You got clothes? Yeah, I bought um that's actually the we got mess coming. They got a warming blanket and stuff like that of whatot. Okay. Yeah, I just brought a little onesie and stuff because she said she needs but she's freaking out. She's like we need to call 911. Yeah. She's like, can you pull over? Yeah, do that. Sarge went south and so I didn't want to I know there's a fire station, but I didn't want to move. No, no. Yeah, thank you. Well, I don't even know like if her umbilical I don't know how how old she is. Do we have a better description on the female? Negative. You know what she was wearing? Could you tell? I'm not sure. No, I got you. I was paying attention to the guy. Hey, set him down right here in the median. Yeah, just wonder if we can confirm if nothing else. The kind woman in the car is the person who reported the incident to the police. The officer stayed with her as she took care of the child and tried to get a solid description of the suspect. Eventually, they were able to find the mother of the baby. So, Jarvis, how do we get a hold of Jarvis? He I thought his phone was dead because I when I was I was calling him it was going straight to voicemail. Did you contact N? I did not. I called the police. Well, yeah. When you called us? Yeah, I just called the I lit I was I called the cops. I was like they'll have a report at least like have it on your Yeah. No, we found him pretty quickly. Who's who's restrained in the resting order? It's between So, we each have one against each other. So when we went it ours were supposed to mirror each other that we could have contact so we could drop the babies off and that's it. Oh, so you guys are loud communication. The baby's mother explained that the father of the baby had been the one to leave the child in the road. The next step was to locate the child's father. The mother had given officers his name and description and directed them to the complex where he lived. All right. Go over there by that door. Make sure he doesn't back door. It's a back door. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. So, just that bottom one, the blinds are shut. Um, that's one. He said those were She said those were closed or open earlier. I have a had a picture of him. Black male 511 180. No used to got to see if I can find somebody to get in. Hey man, you live here. Can you let me in? The officers were able to locate the baby's father, Jarvis. The officers played it cool so they wouldn't scare the man into thinking he was in trouble before they could get the full story. However, what he told the officers was quite different from the child's mother's account of the story. Jarvis. Yes, sir. So, man, I'm So, we had an incident this morning, man. Yes, sir. Cable with your with your baby? Yes, sir. What happened with that? All right. Let me explain to you gentlemen. Okay. All right. This morning the baby mother shows up, right? I say, "Look, um, she's been gone all night drunk." All kind of you do. I say, "Um, I said, man, you need to take baby with you. I got to go to work tomorrow." Okay. She walked off. She grabbed some. I take the baby with me. She She's going this way. I fall behind. I said, "Hey, take the baby with you." I said, "The baby I said, man, get your baby, man." And I go I turn around and come back to my goddamn house. Bro, where'd you leave the baby at? right there behind her. She said, "I'm not taking." Yes, you are. You're going to take him. I got to go to work tomorrow, bro. Was that like in the median? That's like right there on the sidewalk bas right where she was at. Yes, sir. And then what else happened? That's it. I came back home. I got to work tomorrow. The man explained that he left the baby on the sidewalk where the child's mother could see it, but that didn't explain why the baby was found on the median of a busy street. The officers continued to question the man about the mother of the child and what he told them was disturbing. What do you think? What do you think she was on? You said you man, whatever she does, bro. But this is her third time doing that, bro. Last time it was two months she was missing, bro. The other time it was it was another month, bro. I got a word. Sure. So So get this straight. You guys had an argument this morning or what time was that? This was at uh maybe Sevenish. Going on. Seven. Seven. Yep. Okay. What was you guys arguing about? About her. She need to take the baby with her. Uhhuh. Well, what was all said then to argue? I'm just trying to get understanding what's going on. Like I said, she grabbed her stuff. I said, "You can take the baby with you, bro. I got to work tomorrow." Okay. She said, "I'm not taking it." I said, "Yeah, you are. You're going to take it." Okay. You got a responsibility, too. You just as you just as much as you you just as much as I am. Sure. You know what I'm saying? And you're not working right now, bro. Take the baby with you to your mama house. I got to work tomorrow. Okay. I'm trying to stay away from her as much as possible, too. If if you do your background, bro, you read our history, bro. You see, we It's just like supposed to have just contact with the baby, bro. You guys are living with each other, right? No, I I live here, but she used to in the beginning when I first got here, but we had some type of altercations and you know that. Yeah. So therefore, now we split the custody. The officers entered the man's apartment to examine the baby's living conditions and reprimanded him for failing to check whether or not the baby had been safely handed off to its mother. Jarvis did his best to talk his way out of the situation with excuses like he didn't have any help. However, nobody in this situation was completely innocent. Do me a favor, man. Just put your hands behind your back, brother. Okay. What you going to jail for? Child abuse. Child abuse. Child, bro. How is that child abuse? Hang on. Anything else you guys want? Oh, matter of fact, man, let me What's up? Is that your keys? Can you walk me in, bro? So I can make sure everything is good before we leave. How abuse, bro? Are you serious? Yeah. And look, even that, bro. Oh, is that that ring? It's a ring. Bro, come on, man. I'm trying to do the right thing, bro. All you do for your wall real quick, but if I can't find That's cool. That's what it is, man. Sorry. You can't leave your baby on the sidewalk like that and just walk away. Ask the people. Ask anybody who's seen it. I seen it, bro. There's camera footage at the time. I got it, man. So, it's my fault, bro. Both of the baby's parents were charged with child abuse, reckless endangerment, and violation of a protection order. In the best case scenario, the child has been reassigned to a home away from these irresponsible parents. On October 23, 2023, a Palm Beach County driver noticed a small female child running into the roadway. Concerned, she dawned her hazard lights and slowed down to protect the child from traffic. Failing to see a parent accompanying the child, the driver called the police. So, what happened? You know my I'm living in red red bank and and I'm in a corner and the baby run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run r run ran across the street that's my look look at me so I said that very that baby crossing there so I throw my car in the eye and stop my car and go you saw her across the street yeah I I I'm in you're not in trouble and I call her I'm still in trouble how long have you been here no no one's no How many years? Immediately I called the police. Yeah. Maybe how long you take for coming? Okay. What's your name? I open that. Does she speak English? Does she talk at all? Do you speak Do you speak Spanish? Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. What did you Mommy? What is your mom? What is your mom? Mommy, don't talk to mama. Don't talk to mama. I just need procedure. After several attempts to communicate with the small child, it was clear they weren't going to get any helpful information out of her. After getting the kind woman's statement, they removed the child from the car. Upon doing this, the child ran to what seemed to be her house. Wait for hold. Hold her hand. Hold her hand. You live up here. That's where you live. Hello, Sheriff's Office. I got a feeling she county Sheriff's Office. I know. I got nothing to say. 12192. Where's mommy? Does she Is she non-speaking? No, she speaks. She does speak. Yeah, but I know the parents are Spanish, so but she still should speak English, I'm sure. But I I had a funny feeling she's been leaving here and leaving that kid by herself. Okay. Does she work? No. As the officers investigated the residence, the little girl walked inside and immediately grabbed her milk bottle, indicating to the officers that this was where she lived. With no parents in sight, the officers decided to talk to the landlord to find out more information. Oh, she don't work. She does not work. Oh, so is this So, she's either sometimes she goes out and jogs, but usually her car is here. Oh, so she usually stays home. She's normally here, but when she leaves a lot, I'm not going to swear to it, but I think she leaves kids here once she Let's go watch some TV. Yeah. So, it looks like she put the Thank you, sir. It looks like she put the chair to the door and then uh unbolted everything and left. Thank you so much for calling. Thank you for We're going to do everything that needs to be done now from here on out. Yeah, like I said, the easy work. She did the hard work. She saved the life, so we're good. Thank you so much. After the officers sent both the landlord and the female hero on their way, they were able to call both of the child's parents with the numbers provided by the landlord. After a long while, the small child's mother arrived at the scene. Before the officers could even question her though, she made a desperate attempt to save face. Hey, how you doing? My name is Deputy Wells with the sheriff's office. Okay, thank you. So, I'm here in reference to the incident with your daughter. So, um so before I talk to you though, just because of the nature of everything, I have to read you your Miranda. Okay. Okay. Can I just say something like like I don't want any all of this to like you know I'm like the mother to these kids. Okay. your bad mother. Um, I know not that I wasn't supposed to do that and but just like a license or like my immigration process could just be like screwed over. My husband works in construction and we don't make enough money for me to go out and do my thing and have her. Um, so I stay home with them basically. And like I said, I just I was like, "Okay, I'll go and come back." I knew that was locked. Um, we fixed that because she would push it open and it would like she would she would just get out. It was locked. She would just push it open. So, he's like, "No, we got to be careful." I told the other guy when we open the door, she just runs that way. Like, we chase her that way. Like, she just knows there she goes. And I'm like, um, you know, that's why I shouldn't have left there. Put her in the car and take her with me. Just as the officers figured, they were simply dealing with a negligent parent. The woman knew it was wrong, yet decided to leave her toddler at home anyway. After she was done speaking, the officers could finally ask her some important questions. You understand your rights? Okay. So with in regards to today, so you normally I what you told me before you normally stay here. Yeah, it's me and her. He goes to school. I actually in the mornings I go out here to the bus stop. She stays here and I'm always like we stay the bus stop is right here. The other child and his name is Yeah. Okay. She's so the reason I don't take her out there is cuz she works on the sidewalk. And today you're alone with her. Why did you leave at the house? Um I went to the bank to deposit money. So you went to the bank. Does she know I'm going to stay here by herself in the red area? No. No. No. It's like okay. Um if she's sleeping it's like okay the only thing I have here is like Publix go walking the shore or um that's the only thing that's close. Why Why'd you leave her alone today? I thought I could run and come back because um TV. It's like, "Okay, let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go." Turn everything off and kind of just kind of pick her up screaming and put her She would have she would have So, she was watching TV. Yeah. And she would have possibly gotten upset if he pul pulled her away from the TV. The officer explained to the woman that the bystander had found the child over a block away from home. The woman did not seem surprised or worried at all by this. The officer then explained that according to a Florida state statute, it was child neglect since the toddler had been left unsupervised. I'm not trying to make your situation worse or anything like that, but we still have, you know, our job and everything. Okay. So, whenever we get a call of the welfare and it is the criteria, it is a felony to be the child oftended. Okay. So, just based on this mentality, I do have to place you under arrest for neglect of a child. No, I can't. Okay. No, no, no, I can't. Instead of immediately detaining the woman, the officers made the conscious choice to be kind and allow the woman to make a phone call to someone who could take custody of the child so that the child won't be taken by the Department of Children and Families. Soon enough, the child's father arrived at the scene. You need me, please. So, they're going to have questions obviously about just the house or anything. She said she might try to work with you guys maybe to get chimes on the doors or anything like that. Yes. So um your wife was arrested for it's called child abort just child. One of the elements is failure to have supervision. That's all I know. She's a good wife and I work 45 hours just to get her what she needs. You can compare what I drive, what she drive just to get everything to my kids. So she doesn't have to work and do anything and take care of it. So unfortunately that happens. It happens. But she's a good person. My wife sir, she's a good person. She with even have any problems. She was there with so you don't find any records, anything about my son because she's always been there. The child's mother was charged with felony child neglect. It's almost a certainty that her green card application will suffer tremendously due to her failure to supervise her child. Today, we've seen some of the most heartless parents on the planet. From mothers who let their kids run wild while they smoke to old-fashioned mothers who abandon their kids on people's doorsteps, hopefully these children are in the care of more responsible adults.