Mother of Infant Abandoned Along Road Denied Lower Bail

The mother of a baby girl who allegedly left the infant in a child car seat beside a road was denied a reduction in her $500,000 bail during a Thursday court hearing, authorities said.

Sandra Clara McClary, 26, of 423 Morrison Court in Baltimore, was charged July 5 with child neglect and reckless endangerment. Authorities say she left her nearly 3-month-old daughter, Angelique, along an Anne Arundel County road. A neighbor spotted the girl in a car seat and called police.

A judge set McClary’s bail at $500,000 earlier this month 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.

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

“We’re most fortunate that the child was not harmed and appears to be in good condition,” Lt. T.J. Smith of the Anne Arundel County Police Department said at the time of the incident. “We could have experienced a tragedy here this morning.”

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 said the infant’s father was supposed to have the child and she didn’t know where the man was. The woman also told dispatchers she did not know of the girl’s whereabouts.

McClary’s boyfriend was charged earlier this month with assaulting her. Charging documents claim Cordell Lee Hall, 26, of Baltimore, grabbed Sandra McClary’s wrist several times, and pushed her in the chest and head. He is charged with second-degree assault for the July 4 incident, reports WTOP.

Belinda Deberry says her daughter, McClary, provides for her children.

“She tries to be a good mother…. Her kids really love her,” Deberry said in court, according to WTOP. “Sometimes things are hard and there might be struggles. But overall, she’s done okay.”

McClary didn’t abandon her daughter, Deberry testified at an earlier hearing. Rather, McClary was struck and threatened by her boyfriend as she drove, so she stopped the car, and he got out, taking the infant and her car seat with him. Believing the man had Angelique, McClary drove away, her mother told authorities.

This isn’t McClary’s first encounter with police. In September 2014 McClary and a Baltimore man were charged last year with 26 counts of robbery and other crimes for repeatedly targeting a liquor store and convenience store in Brooklyn Park, Patch earlier reported.

Phillip Thomas McGowans and McClary were charged with armed robbery and related crimes for allegedly robbing The Village Liquor at 720 Church St. and Spencer’s One Stop Convenience Store at 4300 Richie Hwy.

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