A New Mexico father has been arrested after police said he left his twin toddlers trapped in a sweltering car for hours while he went dancing with a friend at a bar.
Stephan Natseway, 27, is facing charges of child abuse and abandonment after his 20-month-old children were discovered lethargic and drenched in sweat inside the vehicle, where authorities say they had been left for more than two hours.
Officers found the car parked outside The Dirty Bourbon Dance Hall & Saloon in Albuquerque after venue security spotted the two children locked inside without an adult present, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Santa Fe New Mexican .
Police forced their way into the vehicle through the front driver’s side window at about 1.30am on Saturday and removed the boys from their car seats. Officers noted that the car seats were not secured to the back seats of the vehicle, the outlet reported.
As officers lifted the children from the car, bodycam footage captured them saying the boys were “soaked.” Temperatures in Albuquerque were around 73 degrees after 11pm, according to the National Weather Service.
Even at that temperature, the inside of a parked car can become dangerously hot, reaching about 100 degrees in just 25 minutes and climbing to as high as 115 degrees within an hour.
“That’s insane. That’s disgusting,” another officer reportedly said.
Natseway later approached officers and identified the vehicle as his, according to the complaint. He allegedly told police that he “wanted to have time to himself.”
The father claimed he tried to call family members to watch the children for the night, but no one had been available, the outlet reported.
Stephan Natseway, 27, was charged with child abuse and abandonment after his 20-month-old children were left locked in a hot car for more than two hours, police said
The father claimed he tried to call family members to watch the children for the night, but no one had been available
Law enforcement found the boys at around 1.30am on Saturday in a vehicle parked at The Dirty Bourbon Dance Hall & Saloon after security noticed the pair locked in the car with no adult
He also said he would have left the bar earlier but wasn’t able to because others had been dancing with him, according to the complaint.
Natseway was reportedly heard in additional footage telling officers: ‘I can’t really go to jail tonight.’
Security in the bar scanned Natseway’s driver’s license just before 11pm, the outlet reported.
Natseway was booked into the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center
Natseway was accused of having ‘endangered the lives and safety of his two children by leaving them in a hot car,’ prosecutors said in a motion to have the father detained before he goes to trial.
‘They are unable to care for themselves. Security found them sweating and alone in a car for approximately 2.5 hours.
‘Even if the heat is not accounted for, the Defendant placed the children in danger so that he could go dancing. While they were alone in the car, a stranger could have kidnapped the children.’
Both Natseway and his friend told law enforcement that they knew the young boys had been left in the car, according to the complaint.
The children’s mother was previously charged with child abuse just a year prior after one of the boy’s arms was broken while in her care as she was allegedly heavily intoxicated, the outlet reported.
Natseway was accused having ‘endangered the lives and safety of his two children by leaving them in a hot car,’ prosecutors said
A spokesperson for The Children, Youth and Families Department of New Mexico said that the boys were placed with a family member after being transported to hospital
According to the complaint, Natseway has been reported by The Children, Youth and Families Department of New Mexico after allegedly failing to take the boy to eight follow-up appointments.
The father has also been investigated for two previous reports of neglect, but the allegations were not able to be evidenced, the outlet reported.
A spokesperson for CYFD told Our News Outlet that the boys were placed with a family member after being transported to hospital.
‘The hospital examined the children and discharged them after evaluation. Because the Indian Child Welfare Act applies here, CYFD notified the appropriate tribe or pueblo, which initially exercised jurisdiction to complete the investigation,’ spokesperson Jake Thompson said in a statement.
‘The children were released to a family member, and tribal social services completed a home visit to ensure safety. After 4.00pm Monday, the tribe notified the department that it would not be keeping jurisdiction, so CYFD will complete the investigation. CYFD was notified that the children remain with the family member.
‘Stephan agreed to accept and continue family support services the department recommended.’
Natseway was booked into the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center.
Our News Outlet reached out to the Albuquerque Police Department and CYFD for comment.
