A couple was arrested last week after police said they left their child inside a car while drinking at the Clevelander hotel on Miami Beach.
Clevelander Security guard Howard Bryan managed to point out something wasn’t quite right that early morning on July 24.
“I noticed a guy kept running in and out of our exit. I explained to the guy, like, 'look, you’re going to end up getting left out,' and then he was like, 'no, I’m just going in and out to check on my baby,' and I was like, your baby?" Bryan told NBC 6 on Thursday. "He said, 'yeah, my truck is right here with the windows down with the baby in the back seat,' and I was like, 'bro, you in a club, like go handle your child,' and then he was like 'no, my wife is in here.'"
Bryan then sees the man go back inside the bar and start drinking with his wife. The security guard estimated that they were in there for at least 45 minutes while the 3-year-old sat alone in the car.
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Bryan said at that point he felt he had to tell two off-duty officers what was going on.
"If I didn't say anything and they left, they could have wrecked out with that child in the car because they were drinking and under the influence. The kid could have sat in the car and dehydrated," Bryan said.
A Miami Beach Police report shows it was about 85 degrees with 75% humidity when officers took the child out of the car.
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Police arrested Osman Karatas and Sevda Karatas, who appeared in bond court on July 25 asking the judge about their son. The woman said they were from Turkey and in Miami on vacation.
The child was placed in DCF custody while a judge tried to make contact with relatives in Turkey.
Bryan said he hopes the parents can learn from their mistakes and reunite with their son.
“I think I did the right thing, I don't see myself as a good Samaritan, I just see myself as a man that did what any man should do," Bryan said.
The couple was charged with child neglect with no great bodily harm. They are now out on bond.
NBC 6 contacted their attorneys, but haven't received a response. There is a hearing for the child on August 22 and the parents are due back in court August 23.
