A Florida couple is facing charges after authorities say they left their 2-year-old home alone, and the child wandered outside and ended up walking down the middle of a road late at night.
Johnny JeanBaptiste, 36, and Stacia McMillian, 32, are each charged with child neglect without great bodily harm, according to court records.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime states that a passing motorist called 911 around 11:30 p.m. Saturday after seeing the toddler alone in the middle of Jones Road near Talisi Loop in St. Cloud, a suburb of Orlando. The driver pulled over and got the child out of harm’s way.
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Investigators said the boy was unhurt but visibly frightened and crying when he was found.
Deputies from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office canvassed the area and tracked down the family’s home. When they arrived, the front door was standing wide open and nobody was inside, according to the affidavit. Toys scattered around the house and a photo of the boy helped confirm deputies had the right address.
A deputy reached JeanBaptiste by phone, but he reportedly hung up on the officer. After several more attempts, JeanBaptiste allegedly blocked the deputy’s number altogether. He eventually picked up again and claimed he and McMillian were out running an errand and would be home shortly.
The couple pulled up outside the house in a Toyota Corolla around 12:30 a.m. — roughly an hour after the child had been discovered wandering alone in the road, deputies noted.
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When questioned, JeanBaptiste and McMillian offered little explanation beyond saying they’d gotten into an argument and stepped out to a store, according to police. Officers said both appeared to have been drinking, and McMillian reportedly laughed while being questioned.
Both parents were arrested and booked into the Osceola County Jail, where they are currently being held without bond.
A relative later came to collect the child, and the Department of Children and Families has opened its own investigation into the matter.
