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Fort Lauderdale, Fla.- A Florida mother is under arrest accused of driving with her baby in the trunk
Breona Watkins,19, is accused of taking a 14-year-old boy, and her 5-month-old baby, for a ride in a silver Dodge Stratus. The car belongs to her aunt.
Watkins' problems began when Broward Sheriff's Office deputies say they tried to pull her over along Sunrise Boulevard about 1 a.m. on Tuesday because a headlight was out. Deputies say she kept driving.
The Broward Sheriffs Office says that Watkins ordered a 14-year-old who was sitting in the passengers seat to get in the backseat with the baby, then open the hatch, and put the child in the trunk. She told authorities she wanted the baby in the trunk because she didn't want to get ticketed for not having a car seat.
When Watkins's finally pulled over about a half mile later the baby couldn't be seen. Deputies say she gave them a fake name and doesn't have a license. After 15 minutes, Deputy Juan Canino heard crying.
"I didn't think there was maybe something in the car, but then I kept hearing it, and that's when I was like, 'There's a baby in the trunk.' Then I grabbed the keys, opened the trunk and there he was. I was very surprised,” said Broward Sheriff's Office Deputy Juan Canino.
The baby wasn't injured, but was surrounded by dangerous debris.
"There was a gas can that was used in the back of the car, old fuel pump for a car. The child was actually laying on top of a pair of hedge trimmers, about 12 inches long, used to cut bushes. There was an old rusted tire iron that the child was laying on top of, and a bunch of other debris-- even plastic bags that could have suffocated the child in the back of the car,” said Broward Sheriff's Office Sgt. Tom Hinton. *
Watkins has been charged with child abuse without great bodily harm.
"This situation is very tragic. She's a good mother, a good child," said her aunt Todra Richardson.*
Watkins' aunt says the 19-year-old simply made a mistake, one she'll have to live with now in a court of law.
"She lives with me so I see it on a firsthand basis, and this is in no means as far as saying that she's a bad mother, I think. She's a great mother," she said.*
On Wednesday, at the custody hearing the judge ordered the baby be placed in the custody of Watkins' great grandmother.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.- A Florida mother is under arrest accused of driving with her baby in the trunk
Breona Watkins,19, is accused of taking a 14-year-old boy, and her 5-month-old baby, for a ride in a silver Dodge Stratus. The car belongs to her aunt.
Watkins' problems began when Broward Sheriff's Office deputies say they tried to pull her over along Sunrise Boulevard about 1 a.m. on Tuesday because a headlight was out. Deputies say she kept driving.
The Broward Sheriffs Office says that Watkins ordered a 14-year-old who was sitting in the passengers seat to get in the backseat with the baby, then open the hatch, and put the child in the trunk. She told authorities she wanted the baby in the trunk because she didn't want to get ticketed for not having a car seat.
When Watkins's finally pulled over about a half mile later the baby couldn't be seen. Deputies say she gave them a fake name and doesn't have a license. After 15 minutes, Deputy Juan Canino heard crying.
"I didn't think there was maybe something in the car, but then I kept hearing it, and that's when I was like, 'There's a baby in the trunk.' Then I grabbed the keys, opened the trunk and there he was. I was very surprised,” said Broward Sheriff's Office Deputy Juan Canino.
The baby wasn't injured, but was surrounded by dangerous debris.
"There was a gas can that was used in the back of the car, old fuel pump for a car. The child was actually laying on top of a pair of hedge trimmers, about 12 inches long, used to cut bushes. There was an old rusted tire iron that the child was laying on top of, and a bunch of other debris-- even plastic bags that could have suffocated the child in the back of the car,” said Broward Sheriff's Office Sgt. Tom Hinton. *
Watkins has been charged with child abuse without great bodily harm.
"This situation is very tragic. She's a good mother, a good child," said her aunt Todra Richardson.*
Watkins' aunt says the 19-year-old simply made a mistake, one she'll have to live with now in a court of law.
"She lives with me so I see it on a firsthand basis, and this is in no means as far as saying that she's a bad mother, I think. She's a great mother," she said.*
On Wednesday, at the custody hearing the judge ordered the baby be placed in the custody of Watkins' great grandmother.
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