Couple arrested after leaving baby in car to drink at a bar, sheriff says
Default Mono Sans Mono Serif Sans Serif Comic Fancy Small CapsDefault X-Small Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeDefault Outline Dark Outline Light Outline Dark Bold Outline Light Bold Shadow Dark Shadow Light Shadow Dark Bold Shadow Light BoldDefault Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%Default Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%Parents are facing charges of child neglect after being accused of leaving their baby in the car while inside a bar. (Source: Flagler County Sheriff’s Office)
FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. (Gray News) – A Florida couple is facing charges after authorities say they left their baby in the car while they were inside a bar.
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called Friday night just after 10 p.m. about an infant being left inside a vehicle in a parking lot.
When deputies arrived, they found a car running with the doors unlocked and keys in the ignition, with a baby in the back seat.
While checking on the child, a woman, later identified as 28-year-old Clarisse Finnegan, exited a bar nearby and approached the vehicle.
Deputies said she told them that she was the owner of the car and that her husband, 60-year-old Norman Finnegan Jr., was inside the bar.
According to the sheriff’s office, Clarisse Finnegan told deputies she only came to the bar to get money from her husband for some things for the baby.
She further explained that after checking on the infant, she returned to the bar to see if Norman Finnegan Jr. was ready to leave while he paid for his tab.
However, authorities said the couple ended up giving conflicting statements about what was happening that evening, and witnesses confirmed the two had been at the bar drinking.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said both parents were taken into custody and are facing charges that include child neglect without great bodily harm, a third-degree felony.
“These two will never receive parents of the year award with this behavior,” Staly said. “It’s never acceptable to leave an infant alone inside a running vehicle—especially while inside a bar drinking. This kind of recklessness could have ended in tragedy.”
The Florida Department of Children and Families is also investigating.
“I want to thank the concerned citizen who reported this incident and our deputies who acted quickly to protect this innocent child,” Staly said.
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Couple left baby in car to drink at bar: Police
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PALM COAST, Fla. (WJW) — A Florida couple is facing charges after deputies say they left their infant alone in a running, unlocked vehicle while they drank inside a bar.
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a tip around 10 p.m. on Friday, July 18, that a child was alone in a vehicle outside a bar.Maple Heights police kill dogs after woman mauled; witnesses say officers saved her life
When deputies arrived, they located the car with the engine running, keys in the ignition, and an infant asleep in an improperly secured car seat in the back, according to the deputies’ body camera video.
A woman later identified as Clarisse Finnegan, 28, exited the bar and approached the vehicle. She told deputies the car was hers and that her husband, Norman Finnegan Jr., 60, was still inside, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies escorted Norman from the bar, and both were detained for questioning. Clarisse initially told deputies she entered the bar to use the restroom and get money for baby supplies. She said she returned to the car briefly to check on the infant, then went back to tell Norman she was ready to leave.
However, witness statements and video surveillance contradicted the couple’s timeline.Offensive demonstrations cause outrage in Summit County
Witnesses told deputies the pair had been drinking at the bar.
“These two will never receive parents of the year award with this behavior,” said Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly. “It’s never acceptable to leave an infant alone inside a running vehicle—especially while inside a bar drinking. This kind of recklessness could have ended in tragedy.”
Norman and Clarisse Finnegan were arrested on felony child neglect charges without great bodily harm, a third-degree felony. Norman was later released on a $2,500 bond, and Clarisse was released on her own recognizance.
The Florida Department of Children and Families has opened an investigation into the incident.
Mother, boyfriend accused of leaving 2-year-old alone in car while they drank at Florida bar
Police released the 911 call and body camera footage of the incident.
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Mother, boyfriend accused of leaving toddler alone in car while they drank at a barEdgewater police released the 911 call and body camera footage of the incident.
Edgewater Police Department
A woman called 911 to report a toddler left alone in a vehicle outside a Florida bar before the mother of the child and her boyfriend were arrested for child neglect, according to newly released audio.
The Edgewater Police Department released the audio of the 911 call along with the body camera footage Monday of what they had called a “disgusting” incident.
The child’s mother, 35-year-old Kristina Vitucci, and her boyfriend, 39-year-old Joshua Harris, were both arrested after Vitucci’s 2-year-old daughter was left in an unlocked vehicle while they sat inside an Edgewater bar drinking for nearly two hours on Jan. 28, according to police.
“I don’t know that there’s an actual emergency, but there’s a baby out here in a car by itself,” the 911 caller can be heard telling the dispatcher.
“I just don’t want anybody to get mad at me. But I just, you know, this is wrong,” the caller said.
“Yeah, I agree,” the dispatcher said.
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An officer responded at approximately 8:15 p.m. and reported that the child had been crying in the vehicle and it was unknown where her parent was, according to the body camera footage.
Upon arriving at the vehicle a few minutes later, Harris told officers that he owned the car and that the child’s mother was inside the bar, the body camera footage shows.
When Vitucci subsequently came outside of the bar to the parking lot, an officer told her, “You’ve got an idea of why we’re here,” the footage shows.
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“Yeah,” she said.
The officer told Vitucci her daughter was fine and to stay with him, as police continued to question the couple about the incident.
They were both arrested for child neglect, a third-degree felony.
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Vitucci is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 18 and Harris on Feb. 25, court records show.
ABC News has reached out to their public defenders for comment.
