Monday, June 9, 2003 | 11:12 a.m.
Criminal charges could be filed as early as this week against three parents who left their children alone in cars in soaring temperatures a Metro spokesman said Friday.
An infant boy died in one incident.
Police plan to submit to the Clark County district attorney's office the case of the 7-month-old boy who died after his father left him in a van for more than eight hours Thursday, Lt. Jeff Carlson of Metro's Child Abuse and Neglect Unit said.
Police will also submit the cases of a 1-year-old girl who was treated for dehydration after her mother left her in a car for an hour and a 16-month-old boy who was in his mother's car alone when the car was stolen, Carlson said.
Police determined there was probable cause in all three instances and a warrant will be requested for the parents' arrests, Carlson said.
"If the person responsible for the welfare and safety of a child doesn't meet those standards and they place a child in danger, it fits the child endangerment statute," he said.
District Attorney David Roger this morning said he had not yet received information on the cases. He said he expected to receive the cases by the middle of the week.
The father of the deceased infant will likely face felony child abuse and neglect charges, Carlson said. The mothers of the other children will likely face gross misdemeanor charges.
The man, David Fish, 37, has been a government teacher at Centennial High School in northwest Las Vegas since 1993, according to the Clark County School District. He told police he was tired from working two jobs and had changed his usual routine that morning. In his fatigue, he forgot to drop the baby off at the baby sitter, he said.
Fish was described as good teacher by staff at the school.
"We're just all devastated," Sally Price, a school secretary, said. "It's so tragic, and he is just such a wonderful, responsible person.
"I guess it shows that this kind of thing could happen to anyone."
School District spokeswoman Mary Stanley-Larsen said the district does not have any rules regarding employees having second jobs.
"As long as it doesn't interfere with their teaching there is no problem," Stanley-Larsen said.
School District counselors are available to assist Fish and his family if needed, she said.
The mother of the 16-month-old who was left in a car that was stolen said she had gone to a shoe store to buy the toddler sandals and had run inside to check to see if the store was open.
"We are not going to try and justify what happened," Maria Door said afterward. "But we do want the law to know that this wasn't intentional ... and that we have already paid the price for this, in spiritual and psychological terms."
Roger said intent could be the primary issue when prosecutors determine whether to go forward with criminal charges against the parents.
Nevada's abuse and neglect statute states that a person must willfully cause a child to suffer unjust physical pain or mental suffering as result of abuse or neglect in order to be charged.
A person can also be charged if they place a child in a situation where the child could suffer physical or mental pain, according to the statute.
A Senate bill that would have made it a misdemeanor for an adult 14 and older to leave a child 7 and younger in a car alone if the car is running or if the child's safety is in danger died in the Assembly.
Under the proposed law, those found guilty would have also had to pay a $300 fine.
But under Nevada's current laws, proving the act was intentional is key, Roger said.
"The turning point on these cases is whether the act was willful," he said. "If you intentionally place a child in harm's way, it falls under the statute."
After reviewing the cases, prosecutors could also decide to drop the charges, Roger said.
"It's our decision," he said. "It's up to prosecutors to determine whether a case has merit or not."
Authorities said the father of the deceased infant was at work for more than eight hours when he got in his car to go home and realized he'd left his son in the car.
He told police that he routinely dropped his 2-year-old son off at a day-care center and then took the 7-month-old to a baby sitter before stopping for coffee on his way to work.
He said he forgot about the infant when his routine changed and he stopped for coffee before dropping off the baby.
In addition to criminal charges, all three parents could also face civil neglect charges, Susan Klein-Rothschild, director of the county's Child and Family Services Division, said.
She said on Friday that her office was not currently investigating the incidents, but would likely follow up on the cases.
In a case in which a child is deceased, she said, an investigation is often done with respect to the child's siblings, who could still be at risk for neglect.
"If there is a high risk of harm to the child in the future, that's that when we get the courts involved," she said.
Parents could face criminal and civil charges at the same time, she said. Klein-Rothschild said she hopes more parents realize that leaving their children in the car alone can be deadly.
"Some parents really don't have a sense of how dangerous it is," she said.
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