HENRICO COUNTY, Va (WTVR)- Tuesday’s temperature was 78 degrees, too hot, police say, to leave an adult in a car let alone an infant. 51-year-old grandfather Caleb Jervay was arrested for doing just that.
A shopping trip to a northern Henrico County Dress Barn could cost him his freedom. "He's charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor,” said CBS 6 legal expert Todd Stone. “That carries up to a year in jail and a 2500 dollar fine."
Police say two shoppers alerted them to a car in the parking lot Tuesday afternoon that had a one-year-old girl strapped into her car seat, with no one else around. Police sources say the little girl had been asleep and the grandfather didn’t want to wake her. “I can see it be tempting , you know, strapping and unstrapping the kids,” said Janalee Woodard, a parent. “But at the same time you can't risk their life like that."
Jervay now faces a misdemeanor delinquency charge and Stone says that sheds light on the case. “It's an indicator that the child wasn't injured,” said Stone. “It indicates bad judgment on part of the parent, if the court finds him guilty."
How long was the girl in the car by herself, on a muggy 78-degree day? Police say it’s unknown, but sources claim it was at least 20 minutes and some parents say that 20 minutes too long. “[It] doesn't matter what the temperature is, or how long," said Woodard.
"It's horrible,” said Christa Hess, another parent. “You never leave your kids in the car, because you just don't know."
Caleb Jervay is out on bond. I stopped by his Southside home Wednesday night, where a young woman met me at the door and said he would have no comment.
