A Florida mother was arrested on Sunday after she dumped her 5-year-old son at a Miami Beach park as a punishment for misbehaving.
Alize Angel Rodriguez, 20, has been charged with child neglect, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of cannabis, WPLG reported.
According to witnesses, a woman was seen leaving her child in the park and driving away with a man in a gray Toyota. Upon police arrival, the child disclosed that his mother would frequently abandon him in the park as a form of punishment.
The witnesses, who monitored the child for approximately 20 minutes before contacting the authorities due to the mother’s failure to return, noted that she appeared disoriented and possibly intoxicated when she left the child in the park.
One of the witnesses said she later saw Rodriguez throw a purse into a bush nearby. Police said they found pills and marijuana in the purse.
Following her apprehension, Rodriguez refuted claims of being intoxicated. Although she provided a statement, it was withheld from the arrest report released to the public.
Her son was placed into the care of his maternal grandmother, authorities said.
Rodriguez was still in jail on a $3,000 bond on Monday, Law&Crime reported.
