Mother of 6-year-old Miami boy found wandering emotionally faces judge in bond court for child neglect charge
A mother appeared before a judge Friday morning after Miami Police say her six-year-old son was found wandering alone in the streets of Miami.
The mother, 30-year-old Annie Rivera, shed tears as she listened to Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer. Judge Glazer told Rivera she was arrested for child neglect and that the Public Defender's office would be appointed for her.
When Glazer asked where her child was, a weeping Rivera replied, "He's with DCF. I saw that on the county calendar yesterday".
Glazer ordered that Rivera have no unsupervised contact with her son, subject to what is ordered in dependency court. She must only have supervised contact and "can not be violent or threatening in any manner whatsoever". The judge also ordered her not to "engage in any criminal activity," "possess any drugs," or "use or purchase a firearm or weapon or ammunition," and ordered her to surrender any firearms or concealed weapons.
"Right now, you have got to get it together," Glazer said. "There was inadequate supervision, and there is probable cause, and there are services for you, and you are likely to use them".
Judge Glazer set the bond at $2,500. Miami Police confirmed the child is OK and is with the Department of Children and Families, pending a shelter hearing.
Police said the boy was found around 11 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of N.W. 7th Ave. and 17th St. in Allapattah, not far from the Camillus House. The child was never reported missing. Authorities received a report from the child's school at 10:34 a.m. on Thursday and then went to the mother's apartment, where they spoke with her. She was then arrested and charged with child neglect with great bodily harm.
Good Samaritan Arnett Johnson, who saw the child and called the police, said, "Somebody has to love that kid. He was just standing there looking, and I happened to walk by and do the right thing and call the police."
According to an arrest report, the child, who has learning disabilities, told authorities, "Mom dropped me off and left me".
Police found Rivera at a nearby apartment where she was reportedly living with a friend named Stephanie while trying to save money for her own place. Stephanie, who did not want to provide her last name or show her face, defended Rivera: "She tries her best to be the best mom, and she works and tries to do what she needs to do". Stephanie said Rivera and her son were not home when she went to bed at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday. She later heard the door open in the middle of the night, but thought it was Rivera, and she also thought the boy might have been staying with a godmother.
Miami Police spokesman Officer Mike Vega credited the Good Samaritan for helping, noting the intersection had "a lot of traffic and the child could have been hit by a car or taken by a predator. But now he is ok, and this turned out well".