California dad accused of abandoning newborn in strip mall parking lot
SUISUN CITY, California -- A 16-day-old baby was allegedly abandoned by his own father at a California strip mall and the entire incident was caught on camera.
Images captured by a store surveillance camera on Monday around 3 p.m. show Daniel Mitchell drive into the strip mall parking lot, pull the carseat out of the car, set it on the pavement, wait a few minutes, and then drive away.
"So like, he opened the back door, set him down," said Wendell Cooper, who owns the barbershop next to the Sunset Shopping Center's parking lot.
Police now say tests at the hospital have revealed the baby has a medical condition and is in critical but stable condition. This has Cooper worried more now than he was when he found him.
"It hit me more when I seen (sic) the baby taken to another hospital in critical condition," he said. "It bothers me more today."
Cooper and one of his employees were the first to spot the baby.
"Personally, I'm a father myself. I mean, it just bothers me," said barber Erick Keeton. "Like I said, I initially found the baby, I brought him in, made sure he was fine. Checked him out, he seemed cool. So it was a little confusing as to why he would leave his kid."
Suisun City police identify the father as 18-year-old Mitchell. He was arrested a short time after the baby was abandoned on an unrelated hit and run.
"It's pretty shocking. The officers that responded were surprised to learn that the baby was left in a parking stall," said Sgt. Jose Martinez.
Mitchell's Facebook page has a photo of him, seemingly beaming with pride at the birth of his new son just 2.5 weeks ago.
Now the baby is in the hospital, in the custody of child protective services, and Mitchell is in jail on $500,000 bail.
Ta Gred was inside the barbershop when paramedics were treating the baby.
"I was like, this guy must've been crazy or intoxicated, just like leaving a baby in the lot like that. I was more shocked than anything," she said.
VIDEO: Abandoned baby found in Suisun City in critical condition
Cooper adds, "We brought it inside and we waited 10 minutes because we thought they would come back that they forgot the baby and then we went next door and watched the video and seen the guy pull up and set him on the ground."
Now he is anxious for an update.
"I do want to know how he is doing, he was looking to be in good health when he left," said Cooper.
Cooper has pictures of the baby on his phone. He says he plans to keep them, saying maybe the boy will come back one day and he can show him the photos.
"I'll keep that one, I'll keep it. I might meet him when he gets a little older. He will need a haircut -- he had a lot of hair to be 16 days old, a lot of hair. Hopefully we will meet him when he is one, two-years-old," said Cooper.
California law states that you can leave a baby at a safe surrender spot such as a fire station.
The fire chief of Suisun City said he would have been happy to care for the little boy.
The child is being treated at a Bay Area hospital for a medical condition that preceded the alleged abandonment. Police say the mother is not facing charges at this time.
The father will be arraigned in Solano County on Wednesday afternoon.
