May 25, 2011
Brandon Haught
Public Information Office

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR LEAVING INFANT IN CAR

A Deltona woman was arrested Tuesday evening when it was discovered that she had left an infant in her car for at least 12 minutes while she went into a grocery store. The boy was unharmed, but was in potential danger in a warm car with the windows rolled up and the doors unlocked, allowing possible access by any passerby. Jordan White, 25, was charged with child neglect and possession of marijuana under 20 grams. The child was turned over to his father who was called to the scene by deputies.

An off-duty Orange County Sheriff’s deputy was driving through the parking lot of the Publix Shopping Center, 605 Courtland Blvd., Deltona, at about 7:39 p.m. when he was approached by a woman. She told him that a young child was sitting alone in a car seat in a nearby vehicle. The Orange County deputy opened the car’s door and checked on the 8-month-old who seemed a little warm, but was otherwise fine. The Volusia County deputy was called out to the scene and few minutes after arrival encountered White returning to her car. When asked why the child was left alone, she said that before going to the grocery store she had dropped her boyfriend off at their home and she had thought he had taken the child out then. As the deputy spoke with White, he noticed the smell of marijuana coming from inside the car. A search revealed a small amount of the drug in a plastic bag and a burnt marijuana “roach” on the floorboard. White was arrested and taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach without incident.