Deputies in Daytona Beach, Florida, arrested a mom and stepdad after they allegedly passed out on the beach, leaving their young children unattended with the stepfather later running away from cops while handcuffed before faceplanting into the sand.
It happened shortly before 3 p.m. on Saturday when someone called the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office saying a couple that apparently had “too much to drink” and had passed out on a towel on the beach. They had two kids with them who were not being cared for, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit.
Body camera footage obtained by Law&Crime showed a deputy walking up to the sleeping couple.
“‘Sup guys. Sheriff’s office. Time to wake up,” the deputy said. “Time to wake up!”
The couple didn’t move. The deputy bended down, checked the man’s pulse and shook him.
“TIME TO WAKE UP!” the deputy shouted.
Finally, the man and his fiance woke up from their slumber and looked at the deputy.
“Welcome back,” the deputy quipped.
Deputies asked for ID and whether their kids were with them. The dazed-looking dad got up and walked toward the water, looking for the kids, ages 6 and 7, but couldn’t find them. Eventually, the kids were found at the nearby Nautilus Inn pool, where they were swimming unsupervised.
Cops found a cooler filled with empty cans and bottles of Michelob Ultra and Crown Royal whiskey. It’s illegal to have alcohol on the beach. The man, later identified as Timothy Stephens, and the woman, Alyssia Langley, both 27, of Georgia, were placed into handcuffs. Langley called the cops “d—heads” while Stephens wondered why they were under arrest. She also lamented about how someone would have to drive eight hours to bond them out of jail before deputies placed her in the back of a cruiser.
That’s when Stephens decided to make a run for it. Seeming that he was handcuffed, allegedly drunk and surrounded by cops, he did not make it very far. Stephens tripped over his feet and landed face down on the hard sand, knocking himself out stone cold.
“Stupid,” the deputy said as onlookers laughed at Stephens’ plight.
Cops called an ambulance and took Stephens and Langley to the Volusia County Jail, where they have since bonded out. They are facing child neglect charges and have a court date scheduled for May 7.
