A couple from Florida was taken into custody for reportedly abandoning their infant in a vehicle while they went to a bar to consume alcohol on Friday.
Clarisse Finnegan, aged 28, and Norman Finnegan, aged 60, were taken into police custody and accused of felony child neglect without causing physical harm.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office was notified around 10:20 p.m. when an individual reported seeing an unattended baby in a vehicle outside the Smiles bar in Palm Coast, which is approximately 60 miles south of Jacksonville.
Upon arrival, officers found a baby seated in the back right of a white Volkswagen Passat, secured by a seat belt.
Officers broke the window to access the vehicle before discovering that the car was unlocked, the key was in the ignition, and the air conditioning was running. The report stated that the baby seemed healthy, was asleep in the car seat, and showed no signs of injury.
Upon inspecting the child, a woman, later recognized as Clarisse Finnegan, 28, left a nearby bar and walked up to the car.
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