UNNAMED BABY - 5 months (8/2014)/ Charged: Parents; Deshawn Fields Jr., and Ashley Harris - Montgomery AL

Parents of abandoned 5-month-old arrested

Posted: Aug 07, 2014 5:37 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 08, 2014 11:51 AM CDT
By WSFA 12 News Staff

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Montgomery Police Department officials say the parents of an infant found abandoned Thursday afternoon have been arrested.

According to police, Deshawn Fields Jr., 18, and Ashley Harris, 26, have each been charged with one count each of contributing to the dependency of a child.

Sgt. Denise Barnes says Montgomery police officers and fire medics responded to the 3400 block of South Court shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday after receiving a report of an abandoned child. The baby was found unharmed in a car seat on the ground, according to Barnes.

The infant is now in the custody of the Department of Human Resources, and his parents are behind bars in the Montgomery County Detention Facility.

Montgomery resident Kennesha Richardson is the mother of 11-month-old twins and two older children. She says no matter the situation, a baby should never go without care.

"I almost broke down in tears to think that someone would do that to a child, I mean a baby, a defenseless baby. That was very sad and sickening to me," Richardson said. "It could get hard at times, but you have places to take kids, you just don't have to neglect them."