A South Florida man is facing several charges after authorities say he left his 2-year-old child alone in a car so he could smoke Flakka.
Jarvis Lamar Nelson-Fernandez, 30, was arrested Thursday night on charges including child neglect, possession of PVP, driving with a license suspended and leaving an unattended child in a running vehicle, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office arrest report obtained Tuesday.
Nelson-Fernandez remained behind bars Tuesday on $2,750 bond. It was unknown if he's hired an attorney.
According to the arrest report, an officer was on patrol in the 1700 block of Northwest 38th Street in Oakland Park when he saw a gray Nissan illegally parked. The car's engine was running and the windows were partially rolled down, the report said.
As the officer approached, he saw a 2-year-old child alone in a car seat, crying, the report said. The car's air conditioning was turned off and the 83 degree weather made it warm inside the car, the report noted.
The officer heard a man yell "hey, hey" off in the distance, and saw Nelson-Fernandez walk toward him from a dark field about 100 feet away, the report said.
"That's my son, I only left him there for like 10-15 minutes, I had to pee," Nelson-Fernandez told the officer, according to the report.
Local
When the officer attempted to pat him down for weapons, Nelson-Fernandez became uncooperative and moved so the officer couldn't pat him down, the report said. The officer was eventually able to put him in handcuffs.
The officer searched the car and found a plastic bag containing a white powdery substance the officer identified as PVP, or Flakka, the report said. The officer also found two hand rolled cigarettes containing an unknown substance on a park bench where Nelson-Fernandez had come from, the report said.
Nelson-Fernandez, who is from Lauderhill, admitted to the officer that he drove to the area because he wanted to smoke Flakka but not in front of his child, the report said.
