Inset: Larry Donell Lee (Craighead County Sheriff”s Department). Background: The suburban area where Lee allegedly left his infant son in a car seat on the ground in Jonesboro, Ark. (Google Maps).
Authorities in Arkansas have apprehended a man after his infant son was discovered alone in a car seat on the ground for about 30 minutes. This incident, reported by local law enforcement, took place in the state known as the Natural State.
Larry Donell Lee, 22, is facing charges of felony child endangerment, which poses a risk of death or severe injury, along with a misdemeanor for failure to appear, as per information from the Jonesboro Police Department and the Craighead County Sheriff’s Department.
This event unfolded on November 6 outside a home on Churchill Drive in Jonesboro, a college town situated approximately 70 miles northwest of Memphis, Tennessee.
On that particular day, Lee was responsible for the infant while the child’s mother attended to errands, as detailed in a probable cause affidavit acquired by KAIT, an affiliate of ABC, NBC, and The CW Plus based in Jonesboro.
The mother’s return home marked a distressing discovery.
“Upon her arrival, she found the baby in a car seat on the ground by the door,” the affidavit notes. “The child had vomited on himself and was crying. She estimated he had been left outside alone for around 30 minutes.”
Prior to the little boy’s predicament, his parents had been arguing about something on the phone, according to law enforcement.
The exact nature of that argument, however, is currently unclear.
“During the argument, Lee told her that he was returning the child to her residence,” the affidavit goes on. “The mother informed him multiple times that she was not yet home, but Lee said he did not believe her.”
The mother repeatedly insisted she was not yet home, authorities say. Still, the defendant was allegedly determined to leave – and to leave the child to his own devices, outside, on the front porch.
The child’s mother said Lee told her: “He is waiting on you.”
“She told Lee she was calling the police and that he could not leave the infant outside alone,” the affidavit continues.
Court records obtained by Law&Crime show a man with the same name as Lee subject to a child support enforcement case in Craighead County as of late October. The child in that case is 4 months old.
On Tuesday, Lee was arrested by the Jonesboro Police Department, jail records show. On Wednesday, Craighead County District Court Judge Tommy Fowler found probable cause to sustain the child endangerment charge and issued a no-contact order.
The defendant is currently detained in the Craighead County Jail on $25,000 bond. He is next slated to appear in court on Dec. 16.
