Police: Mall Security Guard Arrested, 2-Year-Old Left In Hot Car During Work Shift
EAST GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - A security guard who police say worked his shift at a shopping mall while he left a 2-year-old boy strapped inside a hot car appeared in court today to face multiple charges from the incident.
Kaliym Rodriguez, 26, of Roosevelt is charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.
A 911 call came in to police on Sunday around 11:30 a.m. reporting a child left in a car on the second level parking lot by Macy's in the Roosevelt Field Mall in East Garden City, N.Y.
Nassau County police found the child strapped into the back of the car and described his condition as "sweating profusely and was hot to the touch." After getting in through an open window and unlocked door, the boy began to cry and was placed in an air-conditioned police vehicle until an ambulance arrived.
The child was taken to a hospital for treatment and released into the care of Child Protective Services.
"You don't leave a child unattended, period. Much less in a car without water," Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.
Approximately an hour and a half later, police say Rodriguez returned to the car after working at the mall's Macy's store. He was arrested by awaiting officers. It's unclear how long the little boy was left alone in the midday heat, which topped 84 degrees on Sunday.
Family members declined comment in court, but neighbors expressed shock that the 26-year-old who they say semes like a good dad didn't reach out for help or find proper child care.
"He's a good boy with his son," neighbor Juliette Dasmas said. "If he'd ask me I'd have no problem to watch the kids."
Police say Rodriguez is a member of the Bloods street gang, and he told responding officers he had just gone inside the store for 30 minutes. He was ordered to stay away from his son, who was placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.