Body camera footage captured the moment a Florida mom was taken into custody while still in bandages after leaving her young son unattended for hours to undergo cosmetic surgery. Jessica Renteria, 25, was charged with child neglect after Doral Police found her three-year-old son wandering alone in an apartment complex on Northwest 104th Avenue on June 27.
Surveillance footage showed Renteria leaving her Airbnb rental apartment around 10 a.m., and several hours later, her son was seen walking out of the apartment holding a cell phone, according to WSVN. Neighbors alerted the police upon finding the boy in the hallways, and body camera footage reveals officers searching for his family.
Negligent Mom
"Hey, little buddy, what's your name?" an officer said. "Do you know where you live? Do you know where Papi and Mami are?"
Officers inquired with neighbors to check if they had previously seen the child or knew who his parents were.
"You said you saw him right here?" an officer said to one person. "My neighbor saw him there. He was sleeping," the neighbor responded.
"Hello, by any chance, are you missing a kid?" an officer asked another resident.
In the footage, someone is heard drawing a comparison to Ohio mother Kristel Candelario, who left her 16-month-old daughter alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation.
"This is like the girl, the lady, that left her daughter to go on vacation," an officer said.
Arrested for Negligence
Police eventually located Renteria several miles away at a surgery center. Video footage shows her being arrested in the back of a police car, dressed in a robe with bandages wrapped around her head.
According to arrest documents obtained by NBC Miami, Renteria said that a friend was supposed to care for her son—an assertion that her friend has denied.
"He [the friend] knows the defendant but at no point in time was he told to take care of a juvenile," court documents said.
Renteria appeared in court for a bond hearing in June, where she became emotional while wearing an orange jumpsuit and her hair in long braids, as the judge reprimanded her.
"I mean honestly, if she had time to go take care of her own personal issues at a cosmetic surgery center without regard to the child, I'm concerned," the judge said.
She was released from jail on June 28 after posting a $1,000 bond. A hearing is scheduled for September 24, with a trial date set for December 2.
