Cops: Babysitter left infant in trash bin
NEW HAVEN — A Hamden woman charged with abandoning an injured 8-month-old baby girl in a dumpster in New Haven was held in lieu of $500,000 bail after being arraigned Tuesday morning.
Andiana Velez, 24, is charged with risk of injury to a child, second-degree assault and first-degree reckless endangerment, according to Capt. Anthony Duff.
In addition to allegedly abandoning the child, who remains hospitalized after suffering burns to her hands, Velez is charged with assaulting the girl’s mother earlier in the day, Duff said.
“It is believed Velez was the child’s baby sitter,” Duff said. “New Haven Police and the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) are continuing to investigate the cause of the child’s injuries. Investigators have not yet determined who is responsible for the infant’s burn injuries.”
Velez initially was held in lieu of police-set $250,000 bail and appeared in Superior Court in New Haven Tuesday, Duff said. Her bail was increased to $500,000 in Superior Court on Elm Street Wednesday.
Special Deputy Katie Morgan argued for the $500,000 bail. She noted Velez has outstanding cases, including charges of thirddegree assault and breach of peace, and prior convictions for threatening and reckless endangerment, among other offenses, and cited the nature of the alleged crime at hand.
“These are very serious offenses,” said Morgan. “They are egregious in nature.”
Defense attorney Trey Bruce sought to have Velez’s bail reduced to $50,000. He said she is a lifelong resident of New Haven, employed for most of her adult life, and was seeking therapy.
Judge Eugene Calistro sided with the prosecution, also noting the severity of the alleged crime.
He cited a police report on the incident as part of his rationale; no police report was available in the criminal clerk court file for the case. New Haven police declined to immediately release police reports regarding the incident Tuesday, saying that the case was still under investigation. A request for body camera footage connected to the matter was sent to the department.
Calistro imposed orders barring Velez from contact with the child or the child’s mother. He also requested that Velez’s mental health and medical condition be assessed while she is in custody.
As he handed down his decision, Velez began to wail and cry, her voice coming through the computer screen streaming the proceedings in the New Haven courthouse.
The child’s family, in attendance to watch the proceedings, declined to comment.
The baby girl was found injured but alive in a dumpster outside of the Presidential Gardens apartment complex on Dixwell Avenue Monday afternoon.
Duff said officers responded to the complex around 2 p.m. after maintenance workers reported finding the child. She was found with burns on her hands.
Perry Dennis, the man who heard the baby in the dumpster, told the Register he had been throwing away his trash when he heard a noise. He initially thought it was a cat; it turned out to be the baby crying.
Rick Chardon, a maintenance technician at Presidential Gardens, said Monday the baby had been found by a tenant, who then turned the child over to staff.
“(The situation is) ridiculous. Ridiculous. A blatant disregard for life all together,” said Chardon, who noted that he had a small child. “A sad state of affairs.”
Dee LaGrande, a resident of Presidential Gardens, expressed shock and sorrow at the incident. She has lived there for nine years, and it hasn’t been bad, she said.
“This is horrible. ... People are actually throwing babies in the trash can?” said LaGrande. “For this to happen, it’s crazy.”
Ruth Harris and Margaret Outlaw, standing on Outlaw’s porch, also expressed shock and sorrow about the incident.
“That’s got to be the saddest thing ever. How can ... any person be that cruel?” Harris said. “It just tears your heart up inside. ... It hurts me and it’s not even my child.”
“How do you walk away?” said Outlaw.