John Jefferson
Background: The Miami Beach, Fla. park where Alize Angel Rodriguez allegedly left her 5-year-old son (Google Maps). Inset: Alize Angel Rodriguez (Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation).
A Florida woman was charged with child neglect after her 5-year-old son was found alone in a park and witnesses saw her allegedly flee the scene.
Alize Angel Rodriguez, 20, was taken into custody hours after witnesses reported to police that her young son was walking around a park in Miami Beach by himself for about 20 minutes, according to an arrest report obtained by WPLG, a local ABC affiliate. The report stated that the boy told police that his mother would abandon him in the park as punishment for being bad.
According to the arrest report, several witnesses saw either the boy or Rodriguez, including witnesses who saw the mom leave the park and get into a gray Toyota with a man — without her son. When officers arrived at the scene and questioned the boy, he reportedly told them that he didn’t know where his mom was, but that she leaves him in the park when he isn’t behaving himself.
Witnesses who saw Rodriguez at the scene said she seemed to be under the influence before she left the park. Someone else saw her walking on Meridian Avenue, where the park is located, and witnessed her throwing her purse into a bush. Police said that inside the bag, they found marijuana and several pills, including Xanax.
Police eventually caught up to Rodriguez, who denied that she was under the influence. When they took her into custody the same day, they charged her with felony child neglect without great bodily harm and possession of a controlled substance. She was charged with a misdemeanor for possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis.
The boy was placed in the custody of his maternal grandmother. Rodriguez remains in custody at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $3,000 bond. Her next court date has not been scheduled.
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