A couple is behind bars after police accused them of leaving their 2-year-old son inside a hot car while they shopped at a Target in Aventura over the weekend.
According to an arrest report from the Aventura Police Department, 25-year-old Melvin Alejandro Jaimes and 24-year-old Paola Palencia-Rodriguez are facing one count each of child abuse without great bodily harm and leaving a child under the age of 6 unattended in a vehicle.
Police said Jaimes and Palencia-Rodriguez were shopping at Target, located at 21265 Biscayne Blvd., when a bystander noticed the boy sleeping in the car with the ignition turned off, doors locked, and sitting in his own vomit just after 11 a.m. Saturday.
Authorities said the bystander convinced the 2-year-old to unlock the door, at which point Aventura police arrived at the scene.
The parents admitted to leaving the child in the hot car with the windows up and the ignition off, according to the report. Police said the boy appeared to be 'sweaty, warm to the touch, and awake and crying," but was in good health and not transported to the hospital.
