A 32-year-old North Miami man is facing a felony child neglect charge after police say he dropped his 6-year-old stepson off alone outside an apartment complex and drove away without checking whether anyone was home. The boy ended up wandering more than a block away to a Family Dollar store, where he asked strangers to call police.
Ricindy Seaphin was arrested Tuesday evening by the North Miami Police Department and booked on one count of child neglect with no great bodily harm, according to WPLG Local 10. Police were called to an apartment near the 13000 block of Memorial Highway just before 6:45 p.m. Tuesday after receiving a report that the child had been left unattended, the station reported. Seaphin was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Wednesday, with his bond listed as pending determination.
A Rushed Drop-Off Sets Off a Search
According to the outlet’s account, Seaphin picked the boy up from school Monday afternoon and dropped him off at about 3:20 p.m. in front of the apartment complex rather than walking him to the door, which police say he normally does before turning the child over to his mother. The boy’s mother had told Seaphin earlier that she would not be home, the report states.
Investigators said Seaphin left without confirming that a responsible adult was inside the apartment. The boy then walked to the apartment and knocked, but no one answered. From there, the child made his way to the Family Dollar at 280 NE 135th Street, asking people for help and for someone to contact police, per the same account.
Witness Steps In, Boy Reunited Safely
A witness found the boy at approximately 4:15 p.m. Monday and, after discovering no one inside the apartment, stayed with him, provided him food and care, and eventually helped him back to the apartment before contacting law enforcement, the station’s report notes. That witness’s intervention led directly to the police response and Seaphin’s arrest…