Child desertion charge results in 15 years in prison for Michigan mother
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (CBS DETROIT) - A Michigan woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges related to her 1-year-old child abandoned on a Florida beach.
Shamika Mitchell of Detroit was found guilty by jury in November of aggravated child abuse and unlawful desertion of a child, reported the state attorney's office for Florida's 7th Circuit. Her recent sentencing imposed 15 years in prison, followed by 15 years of probation, in the case. She could have faced up to 35 years in prison.
The incident happened on Nov. 8, 2023, when Mitchell was visiting Daytona Beach. The state attorney's office said a security video showed her walking down a staircase to the beach area just before midnight with the toddler in her arms. Five minutes later, she returned from the beach without the child.
At about 1 a.m., a woman found the boy at Main Street and Ocean Avenue. She told Daytona Beach Police that the toddler was in the water on his hands and knees, hands buried in the sand, and waves crashing over his head.
When officers arrived on the scene, the boy was unresponsive and had an elevated pulse and shallow breathing, the report said. He recovered after treatment at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital.
Before the child was found, officers questioned Mitchell about where he was. She said at the time that she left the boy with his father. But when police called the father, they learned he was in Detroit.
The case was investigated by the Daytona Beach Police Department, with assistance from the Volusia Sheriff's Office.
