(Long Island, NY) Suffolk County Police today arrested a Patchogue man that left his 5-month-old baby boy and 5-year-old son unattended in a car while shopping in Patchogue Village.
The children’s father, Luis Lucero Fajardo, 32, of Patchogue, was arrested and charged with two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
Fifth Precinct Police Officer Dennis Stewart responded at approximately 5:40 p.m. to a report of two young children left unattended in a vehicle that was parked in the Patchogue Village parking lot located at 32 West Main St., Patchogue.
Upon arrival, Officer Stewart observed two children in a 1999 Mazda that was locked and not running. Witnesses stated that the children had been in the vehicle approximately 15 minutes prior to police arrival. The outside temperature was approximately 25 degrees at the time of the incident.
When the children’s father, Luis Lucero Fajardo, 32, of 73 Wiggins Ave., Patchogue, returned to the vehicle, he was arrested and charged with two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Officers discovered during the course of the investigation that Lucero did not possess a driver’s license and his vehicle was suspended from being on the road because it was not insured.
Lucero Fajardo will be held overnight at the Fifth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow morning at the First District Court in Central Islip on February 18.
A notification will be made to Suffolk County Department of Social Services Child Protective Services Bureau.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
