Hall County authorities have charged a 31-year-old man with second degree cruelty to children after he apparently left his one-year-old baby in a vehicle unattended.
Hall County Sheriff's Office Lt. Scott Ware said the incident happened on Friday, Nov. 3 at a residence in the 1300 block of Marlow Drive.
"A neighbor heard crying from a car and she approached the car and realized there was a baby left unattended in the car," Ware said. "She opened the door, got the baby out and called 911."
Ware said when deputies arrived, EMTs were already at the scene taking care of the baby.
"The child was fine except for extreme dehydration," Ware said.
Ware said the baby was taken to the hospital for treatment and deputies then went to the residence where the vehicle was parked to search for an adult. He said they found Mateo Alonzo Y Alonzo inside the house.
"He was inside the residence the whole time and ultimately he was arrested and charged with one count of cruelty to children in the second degree, which is a felony," Ware said.
Alonzo also was placed under an immigration hold, since he is in the United States illegally.
Ware said Alonzo did not offer an explanation for his apparent failure to remove the baby from the vehicle.
"Alcohol was definitely involved - other than that, I can't give much of an explanation," Ware said. "It's a very sad case."
Ware said the baby's mother was at work at the time of the incident. She currently has custody of the baby, but the Hall County Department of Family and Children Services was notified about the incident.
