Abandoned Baby Case: Lower Bail Denied for Alleged Father

The boyfriend of a woman charged with abandoning her six-week-old daughter on the side of the road – an allegation she disputes – remains in jail on a charge he assaulted the woman.

Cordell Lee Hall, 26, of Baltimore was charged with second-degree assault for the July 4 incident. He had requested a lower bail amount, but that was denied by an Anne Arundel County judge on Wednesday, says the state’s attorney’s office. His bail remains set at $45,000.

Charging documents claim Hall grabbed Sandra McClary’s wrist several times, and pushed her in the chest and head. McClary, 26, of Baltimore, was charged last month with child neglect and reckless endangerment. Authorities say she left her infant daughter, Angelique, along a Pasadena road. A neighbor spotted the girl in a car seat about 11 p.m. on July 4, went to check, found the infant and called police.

Hall reportedly argued several times with McClary because she got lost driving the couple to a party, according to court documents. McClary stopped the car, both adults got out, and Hall shoved her. At that point, McClary told police, she left Hall and their baby at 920 Druid Hill Ave. in Pasadena; no time was specified.

Just before 11 that night a homeowner saw the infant in her car seat – sweaty but otherwise apparently in good health – and called police.

SEE ALSO

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• Suspect in Abandoned Baby Case ‘Tries to Be Good Mother’
• Boyfriend of Mom in Abandoned Baby Case Charged with Assault

When police blanketed the media with a plea to help find the abandoned baby’s parents, McClary called police the following morning. She claimed the infant’s father was supposed to have the child and she didn’t know where the man was. The mother also told dispatchers she did not know of the baby’s whereabouts, police say.

During a previous bail hearing for Sandra McClary, authorities said she is the mother of four children ages 6, 3, 1, and baby Angelique, reports WTOP. The 3-year-old and Angelique are in the custody of social services.

McClary told police after coming forward as the baby’s mother, that she could never return home or Hall would kill her.

A request last month to lower McClary’s $500,000 bail was rejected as prosecutors argued she was a flight risk with a criminal past. Her current trial date is set for Oct. 27 in Annapolis District Court.

»Photos of Sandra McClary, daughter, courtesy of Anne Arundel County Police