11-Month Old Baby Taken From South LA Found Safe, Suspect Delaneo Adams Taken Into Custody At California Hospital
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A man suspected of taking an 11-month-old baby girl in South Los Angeles was taken into custody Monday afternoon and the baby was found safe.
Around 3:30 p.m., 39-year-old Delaneo Adams was taken into custody at California Hospital Medical Center. The baby, an 11-month-old girl named Heather, was found safe at Broadway and 52nd.
"Her clothes were a little dirty," Raven, a witness, said. "She had a little dirt on her face, but no bruises or bleeding or anything like that."
According to the LAPD, 11-month-old Heather was taken on Sunday, March 7, 2021, at 6 p.m. from her home on the 8100 block of S. Western Avenue.
She was reported to LAPD's 77th Street Division this morning.
Adams was said to be homeless and an acquaintance of the baby's parents. He was seen in the Skid Row area on an adult tricycle with Heather in his arms.
According to the LAPD, Adams handed the child to Raven and her sister, Ebony, outside of the Paradise Arms apartment complex last night.
"He just handed her off," Raven said. "He was like here, hold her, take her. I'm going to come back for her."
He told them he was planning to sleep outside so they thought they were helping him by watching the baby. The sisters fed her, bathed her and put her to sleep.
Then, when she was reported missing this morning, LAPD put out the alert and the women saw the pictures on the news.
"I was like, 'Oh that looks like the pretty baby that's at my house,'" Ebony said. "Then they showed the guy, and I was like, 'Oh, that is the pretty baby at my house.'"
The women tried to take the baby to the LAPD's 77th division but the front desk was closed due to COVID, so they called 911. Police called them good Samaritans.
"So the women were just kind of in shock and trying to help somebody that they thought was down on their luck and said if this is your child, we want to help you," said Detective Liliana Preciado. "He said, "Can she stay with you and I'll pick her up tomorrow?" Once they realized something was off, they were checking to make sure there were no amber alerts or anything like that."
The baby's parents are in custody for child endangerment and Heather has been taken into protective custody. LAPD didn't provide any more information about the child's parents.
