For the second time in a week, Anne Arundel County police say a child was left unattended in a parked vehicle near Arundel Mills.
Juan Carlos Calva Diaz, 47, of Columbia, Md., is accused of leaving his grandson alone in a parked car in front of the Best Buy on Arundel Mills Circle for three hours Thursday.
A witness arriving at the store noticed the 6-year-old boy alone in the Chrysler Town and Country van at 4:30 p.m. When the witness returned just after 6 p.m., the child was still alone. Officers called to the scene said the van's hazard lights were on and the vehicle was cold to the touch.
The boy was able to let himself out of the vehicle and was placed into a warm police cruiser, authorities said.
Diaz and the boy's mother returned to the van at 7:30 p.m. Police said the boy's mother told them Diaz came to the mall to pick her up and left her son alone.
The boy was transported to an area hospital as a precaution, but was found to be in good health. While the child was released into the custody of his mother, authorities said the Criminal Investigation Division Child Abuse Unit will conduct any necessary follow-ups.
Diaz was arrested and charged with confining an unattended child and neglect of a minor.
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Two days before Diaz's arrest, a Maryland mother was charged with child abuse after leaving her 4-year-old child unattended in a parking garage at the nearby Maryland Live! casino.
According to Anne Arundel County Police, 24-year-old Alicia D. Brown of Baltimore, covered the vehicle's rear window with blankets so no one could spot the child.
Brown was charged with child abuse, confining an unattended child and neglect of a minor. She was released on a $150,000 bond Wednesday.
