A Florida mother was arrested after allegedly punishing her five-year-old son by leaving him alone in a park.
Alize Angel Rodriguez, 20, was arrested Sunday in Miami Beach after concerned witnesses saw the young boy walking alone in Flamingo Park for about 20 minutes.
Others told police they also saw his mother, Rodriguez, driving away from the area in a gray Toyota without her child.
The child told officers and bystanders that Rodriquez often leaves him to his own devices in the park when he misbehaves, according to her arrest report, obtained by DailyMail.com.
Those who found the abandoned child also noted that when they saw Rodriguez, she appeared “incoherent and possibly under the influence,” the report said.
Police then found a bag she had thrown in the bushes after a witness saw her throw it as they walked down Meridian Avenue. Rodriguez was soon spotted nearby and taken into custody.
Inside the bag, authorities discovered marijuana and multiple pills, including Xanax, a food stamp card, small paper bags, medium paper bags and three mylar bags.
Rodriguez denied she was under the influence. She did make some kind of confession to police, but it has since been redacted from the publicly released report, records show.
Alize Angel Rodriguez, 20, was arrested Sunday in Miami Beach after concerned witnesses saw her five-year-old son alone for about 20 minutes.
Others told police they also saw his mother, Rodriguez, driving away from the area in a gray Toyota without her child.
She was taken to Miami Beach Jail and is currently being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Rodriguez is charged with child neglect without great bodily harm and possession of a controlled substance.
She also faces a misdemeanor charge of cannabis possession, records show.
On Monday, she was seen in court wearing a green suicide smock as she attempted to make a statement but was quickly interrupted by the judge.
‘You don’t have to say anything. You have a good lawyer, let him do the talking,” Judge Mindy S. Glazer said as Rodriguez smiled.
During the hearing, her attorney requested that her client be given a reasonable bail amount so that Rodriguez could “be with her son again.”
“She won’t be with her son. I’m entering a stay-away order to be sent to DCF,” Glazer responded. Her child has been placed in the care of his maternal grandmother.
On Monday, Rodriguez was seen in court wearing a green suicide smock as she attempted to make a statement but was quickly cut off by the judge.
She is currently being held without bond. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 11, records show.
In December, officials found a one-month-old baby abandoned in a car seat on a Colorado highway.
Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to 911 calls about a little boy found near a median at 7490 Pecos St. on Christmas Day.
The child was wearing only a diaper and in a car seat.
Police launched a search for the youngster’s parents and posted an appeal on social media urging anyone with information to alert authorities.
At 8:40 that evening, the department said the child’s biological parents, Jarvis Sims and Christina Thurman, had been located.
They were arrested and charged with child abuse.