Suspect in Abandoned Baby Case 'Tries to Be Good Mother'

Six-week-old Angelique Morgan’s mother– charged with abandoning the baby along the side of a Pasadena road – is an abuse victim who tries to be a good mother, the infant’s grandmother said in court.

During a Tuesday 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, 26, of 423 Morrison Court in Baltimore, was charged Sunday with child neglect and reckless endangerment. Authorities say she left her daughter along an Anne Arundel County road. A neighbor spotted the girl in a car seat Saturday night, went to check, found the infant and called police.

A judge set McClary’s bail at $500,000 at the hearing as prosecutors argued she was a flight risk with a criminal past.

Police say McClary called 911 Sunday morning claiming to be the baby’s mother. News of the infant’s plight received widespread media attention throughout the day.

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.

SEE ALSO:

• Mother of Abandoned Infant Awaiting Trial on 26 Charges in Armed Robberies
• Mother of Infant Abandoned Along Road Charged with Neglect

Belinda Deberry says her daughter is a victim of abuse who 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 her bail 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 boyfriend 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, Maryland, 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. Authorities claimed McGowans and McClary robbed The Village Liquor Store twice last year. Detectives suspect they may have committed other area robberies, including other holdups at Village Liquor.

According to online court records, McClary’s trial on the store holdups has been delayed several times in the past year. She is now schedule to stand trial on that in September.