Man held after officer finds baby in car

Police: Vehicle left unlocked, running as suspect went into pot dispensary

A Michigan man faces child abuse charges after a Las Vegas police officer found a baby left alone in a car at a marijuana dispensary Tuesday.

Raashid Yahya, 34, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on charges of child abuse or neglect and leaving a child unattended in a vehicle.

Alasvegaspoliceofficerresponded to the Jardin Premium Cannabis Dispensary, on East Desert Inn Road near Mcleod Drive, shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday. The patrolman said he saw a baby in the back seat of a running car, according to a Metropolitan Police Department report on Yahya’s arrest.

The officer immediately checked to make sure the child, described in the report as a 1-year-old, was OK, and Yahya came out a few minutes later.

“Officers explained to Yahya of the seriousness of leaving the child in a vehicle that is running, and having all of the vehicle doors unlocked in an area which is known for being an area of high drug activity and grand larceny auto problems,” the report reads.

Yahya told the officer he stopped there because he urgently had to go to the bathroom, the report shows. He

DISPENSARY

said he had to leave the baby in the car because children are not allowed in dispensaries.

He told officers he did not think to take the child into one of the nearby restaurants because he is not from Las Vegas, the report shows.

But a front desk employee at the dispensary told police Yahya was checked in to shop and did not use the restroom.

“At that time, Yahya verbally stated to officers, ‘well I was looking around but I did have to take a (expletive),’” the report reads.

The report identifies Yahya as the boyfriend of the baby’s mother. The woman was at work and came to the store to get the baby.

Yahya’s arrest also triggered a Child Protective Services investigation as well, the report shows.

Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@ reviewjournal.com and 702-3830391. Follow @Wesjuhl on Twitter.