Man Visits Jail, Allegedly Leaves Children in Hot Car, Lands in Jail Too

Originally posted at 1:58 p.m. Aug. 26, 2014. Edited with new details.

A man who illegally parked his car in front of the Orange County Jail in Santa Ana to put money in his wife’s jail account found himself behind bars for leaving his three young children in the vehicle unattended, police reported today.

Gerardo Jose Jimenez, 29, of Garden Grove, was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to Orange County Jail records.

An off-duty Orange County sheriff’s deputy called Santa Ana police just before 5 p.m. Monday to say he spotted three girls -- an 8-month-old infant, a 21-month-old toddler and a 7-year-old -- unattended in a Honda Accord outside the jail facility at Sixth and Flower streets, according to Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. The vehicle’s windows were open and the car’s engine was turned off, Bertagna said.

The deputy asked people in front of the building if they were related to the children, then ran into the jail facility to see if he could find one of their parents inside and came across Jimenez, Bertagna said.

Jimenez said he was the children’s father and told the deputy not to worry because he had left the Honda’s air conditioner on, which wasn’t the case, according to Bertagna.

Jimenez told investigators he couldn’t find any place to park, and did not want to take the children into the building with him because his youngest daughter was asleep and he didn’t want to rouse her, Bertagna said.

Investigators suspect the children were left alone in the vehicle for at least five minutes before the deputy spotted them, Bertagna said. It was about 80 degrees outside at the time, Bertagna said.

The children were taken to Orangewood Children’s Home, and Jimenez was booked on suspicion of cruelty to a child with possible injury or death, Bertagna said.

Authorities warn that children cannot be left unattended in vehicles even for a short amount of time.

Pediatrician David Nunez of the Orange County Health Care Agency recently told City News Service that a 2005 study showed temperatures rise dramatically in a vehicle in just a matter of minutes, even if the windows are cracked open.

It can take 10 or 15 minutes for temperatures to reach dangerous levels - - as high as 117 degrees, Nunez said. A child’s body temperature can rise three to five times faster than that of an adult. If it reaches 107 degrees, it can prove fatal.

Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said his agency has been responding to two to three calls a day about children left alone in vehicles. One of the most common problems is when parents or guardians step out of the vehicle momentarily and the children get locked in accidentally, Concialdi said. When that happens, it’s wisest to call 911 instead of breaking the window, the captain said.

--City News Service

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