PATCHOGUE, NEW YORK- A 37-yr-old man was arraigned Wednesday on child-endangerment charges after one of two toddlers he was baby-sitting was found drunk, authorities said.
Suffolk County sheriff's deputies investigating a family court case peered through the window of a Patchogue home Tuesday and said they saw Juan Reyes passed out with the children wandering around.
They roused Reyes, who was the only adult at home with the two toddlers, ages 2 and 3, according to the sheriff's office. The deputies said Reyes appeared intoxicated.
The deputies also said the 2-year-old was having difficulty standing, had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol. Tests at a hospital found he was legally drunk.
At the time of incident, the children's parents were at a hospital, where the mother was giving birth.
Reyes pleaded not guilty.
***Follow-up story can be found here.
5 comments:
That is a horrible story. At least the police were there before anything worse happened. Great blog and thanks for commenting on my site.
Hi,
I actually work at a wine & spirits store in the area, and while I am not 100 percent positive this is the man I'm thinking of, I'm still certain enough to post here. If this is indeed the man I am thinking of, while I am deeply saddened and horrified by what happened, I can't say I'm surprised. I've had to refuse to serve him more than once, as he has come in clearly ineribated. He would come in incoherent and would ask me to let him go for a dollar or so. And he bought the cheapest crap we sold. This guy is a total lowlife, and I hope this is allowed on this board, a scumbag. I felt that way before, and now I am certain. I deal with these people all day long, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why someone would want to live their life this way. If they're this bad at managing life and want to wallow in booze, that's their choice. But when their choice endangers others, especially small children such as this, I have huge problems with that.
Also, (again, if this really is the man), the boy's father should have his children taken away from him. Leaving his children in the care of this pathetic loser goes beyond incompentence. He should have known this man was a hardcore alcoholic, and that he wasn't fit to look after himself, let alone two small children. Anyway, that's my piece. I really hope Mr. Reyes pays the price for his actions.
Thanks for writing in. I allow all comments unless they are spam. Since the parents were at the hospital and giving birth, I can only assume that they left the kids with him because of time factor. I just hope he was sober when he was left to watch the children. If he wasn't then I agree--those kids should be removed from the home.
If you get any more info on this story please forward it to me.
Thanks,
The Zoner
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lidrun1230,0,5712167.story?coll=ny-top-headlines
Thanks, Zoner. This is a link to a new story; an order of protection has been filed against the boy's father. While it's possible that they were in a rush and the cousin was the only person they could get, I still think it's important to investigate the circumstances of what happened. It could very well be a miracle that those cops were there on another matter and discovered this. That boy could have died. Couldn't they have just brought the children with them to the hospital? I understand they might not have had a choice, but they were taking a huge gamble by leaving their children in Mr. Reyes' care. This man was in a perpetual state of drunkenness. Patchogue is a town that is in very dire shape. Parts of it look like something out of Roger & Me, including the part where I work. There are many homeless and illegal immigrants, of which Reyes is almost certainly one. I'm not going on a diatribe against poor people or immigrants, btw. It's just upsetting because this story has gotten national coverage, and it is an embaressment and a black eye to this community and the people who live there. It's one thing that these people are screwing up their own lives, but when a 2 year old is affected in this way and comes very close to death because of the actions of this person, and I use that term very loosely.
In closing, I don't think Reyes intentionally gave the 2 year old liquor; it's more likely that the boy was thirsty and drank the first thing he saw, which happened to be rotgut vodka. But you never know. A few months ago, another immigrant who comes into where I work told me of how a friend of his put some vodka into the ba-ba bottle of his 3 year old stepson. My faith in humanity has become a little shaken as a result of hearing stuff like this. I used to be a person who tried to explain things away or make excuses for people like Mr. Reyes. Now, it's apparent to me that some people are just f**k-ups. I'm very interested in following this story, and will continue to inform this blog of any developments.
Thanks for the link and follow-up. I certainly wasn't giving them an out for leaving the child with him, just somehow trying to figure out how in the world this happened. And that was pretty much all I could conjure.
I agree--I bet the guy was zonked and the kid went and drank his drink. If it was coffee the kid would have done it too. It's just a sad story and I hope the little one has no adverse effects later on because of this.
you're right in saying the kid could have died. Assuming a 2 year old ways somewhere around 25lbs. One solid shot of booze could totally mess with his system or he could fall or myriad other ways of physically injuring himself--stairs, etc.
Keep us posted. You are now The Zoner's New York Correspondent. No pay, but a firm handshake and a sincere thank you. =0p
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