John Jefferson
Background: The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. (Google Maps). Inset: Rubi Verduzco (Broward County Sheriff’s Office).
An Oklahoma woman was put behind bars after allegedly abandoning her baby at a Florida casino.
Rubi Verduzco, 29, was arrested on Dec. 24 after she was tracked down by the staff at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. According to arrest records obtained by Miami ABC affiliate WPLG, the baby was found alone with a soiled diaper and brought to the bell desk by a group of unidentified men.
Tribal officer Joseph Cimino of the Seminole Police Department responded to the scene and discovered that the baby had been left alone at the bell desk for about 30 minutes before he arrived. The arrest records reportedly stated that Cimino “observed an infant wearing a soiled diaper in a stroller out in the open elements.” The three men who brought the baby there were not identified and left as soon as they dropped off the baby.
When Verduzco, who lives in Bethany, Oklahoma, was eventually found, she was allegedly intoxicated and unable to provide her baby’s age. Verduzco was identified by her Oklahoma medical marijuana card, Miami NBC affiliate WTVJ reported. She contacted the father of the baby, who reportedly said he was in Oklahoma and told police to hand the baby over to the custody of the state.
The father later reportedly told police he was actually in Orlando, but was unsure if he could come and take the baby, the station reported.
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Verduzco was charged with two felony counts of child neglect without great bodily harm and taken into custody at the North Broward Bureau jail on Dec. 24. On Dec. 26, she appeared before a magistrate judge, who issued a $2,500 bond.
WPLG reported that she is still being held in jail.
Police confirmed that the baby was taken in by the Department of Children and Families.
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