Dropped charges in hot-car death raise concern
Mother of 1-year-old looking for justice
Makia Wallace wants to know why her baby’s death is different in the eyes of the law.
The mother said she doesn’t understand why prosecutors dropped their case against Dougkindra Wallace, a friend who left 1-year-old Jace Lucas Leslie in the back of a hot car outside her job at an Orlando elementary school instead of taking him to day care on Sept. 11.
Jace, who was called “my sunshine” by his mother and loved to wear his hair wild, was found dead more than seven hours later, still buckled in his car seat.
Orange County deputies arrested Dougkindra Wallace, who is not related to the family, on felony charges of aggravated manslaughter and child neglect. But prosecutors with the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office dropped them in October.
Prosecutors from the same office had gone after similar cases involving caregivers accused of leaving children in hot cars, Makia Wallace said.
Why not do so for her son?
“All I’m asking for is justice,” she said between sobs during an interview with the Orlando Sentinel. “... I’m refusing to be silent for my baby.”
According to Janette Fennell, the president and founder of KidsAndCars.org, the inconsistent prosecution of hot-car deaths is a nationwide problem. There’s usually “no rhyme or reason” as to who gets charged or prosecuted, she said.
“You’ll see cases that have an almost identical type of situation, and they’re treated extremely differently,” said Fennell, whose organization tracks deaths of children left in cars, of which Jace was one of 24 across the country this year.
Makia Wallace said she has asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to intervene and tried to reach incoming State Attorney-Elect Monique Worrell, hoping the circuit’s new top prosecutor would consider pursuing lesser charges against Dougkindra Wallace. State Attorney Aramis Ayala, whose term ends next week, said in a statement her office was “unable to proceed with criminal prosecution” despite the case’s “horrific” facts.
“This is an extremely sad and tragic case,” Ayala said. “... Although
the Defendant clearly owed the victim a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused the victim’s death — this is the definition of simple negligence, a tort — not a crime.”
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment, though Makia Wallace said DeSantis’ staff had told her he would not get involved unless there was a conflict of interest.
When asked if Worrell would review Dougkindra Wallace’s case, campaign spokeswoman Keisha Mulfort said the future state attorney would “review any open cases requiring her attention upon taking office” next week, but could not say if Worrell would review a closed case.
Dougkindra Wallace’s attorney, Rhiannon Arnold, said her client was “not in a position to make a statement as to this pending matter” when asked for comment.
’I don’t understand it’
Makia Wallace, 34, said she became friends with Dougkindra Wallace in high school.
As adults, Makia Wallace worked as a corrections officer for the Orange County Jail, while 35-yearold Dougkindra Wallace became a third-grade teacher at Rolling Hills Elementary School.
Because of her 12-hour shift schedule, Makia Wallace said she paid her friend $80 a month to take Jace to a day care on Indian Hill Road and later bring him home on the days she worked.
Everything went well for 10 months, she said.
On the day Jace died, Dougkindra Wallace picked him up from home around 7:30 a.m., and placed him in a rear-facing car seat positioned behind the driver’s seat, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. The teacher’s son was also in a car seat next to Jace.
Dougkindra Wallace dropped off her son at his babysitter’s house and told detectives she saw Jace awake.
She got on a call. Instead of driving to Jace’s day care, which was about five minutes away, she headed to work and was “likely distracted,” the report said.
Dougkindra Wallace left her car running and walked into the school’s front office for a temperature check. Still on the phone, she returned to her car, moved it to the teacher’s parking lot and went to school — leaving the 20-month-old baby inside, according to the report.
The heat index that day was 105 degrees, detectives said.
Around 3:30 p.m., Dougkindra Wallace got out of work, drove to a student’s house to drop off a textbook and headed to Jace’s day care.
She found the baby dead in her back seat and screamed, witnesses told the Orlando Sentinel at the time.
“How could someone leave my baby?” Makia Wallace asked. “I don’t understand it.”
Cases handled inconsistently?
Makia Wallace said her former friend apologized in a text message the next day. Dougkindra Wallace turned herself in to authorities and was arrested more than a week after Jace’s death.
A month later, Makia Wallace said prosecutors told her they didn’t have enough evidence of negligence to pursue the charges.
“That’s reckless behavior,” the mother said she told prosecutors. “That is neglect. That is not a tragic accident . ... This was her duty. This was her responsibility.”
Orlando criminal defense attorney Richard Hornsby said the decision “doesn’t make any sense” because Ayala’s office has prosecuted other caregivers who’ve left children in car. Among them are Deborah St. Charles, a day care driver sentenced to 10 years of probation in the death of a toddler, and Mariah Butler, who faces up to five years in prison for the death of her boyfriend’s 4-year-old son.
Ayala’s office did not respond when asked why Dougkindra Wallace’s case was different from those of Butler or St. Charles.
Hornsby said he’s had multiple clients face prosecution for leaving children unattended in a vehicle, even if no one was injured.
“I’m dumbfounded,” he said. “... Their logic for not filing any charges is inconsistent with past prosecutorial behavior and discretion, especially in this circuit.”
Leaving a child younger than 6 alone in a car for more than 15 minutes is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison, according to Florida law. Hornsby said Dougkindra Wallace could have been charged with a felony for leaving a child alone in a car that resulted in great bodily harm, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
“If the reasoning is that you think this lady doesn’t deserve to go to prison, well that’s fine,” he said. “... But to justify a decision based on legal mumbo jumbo doesn’t do justice to the child or Ms. [Makia] Wallace. Frankly, it kind of makes a mockery of other tragic cases that find themselves in the the criminal justice system.”
Fennell, of KidsAndCars. org, said accidentally leaving a child in a car is a very misunderstood phenomenon.
She noted research that shows it’s a common memory failure that can happen when parents and caregivers face stress and disruption. That’s why Fennell and other advocates are pushing for national legislation that would require automakers to install alerts to remind drivers of backseat passengers.
“We are all human,” she said. “We can all make mistakes. There is no one on the face of the Earth that has a memory that’s infallible. This can happen to everyone.”
Less than two weeks ago, Makia Wallace said she celebrated what would have been her son’s second birthday. Christmas with her two daughters was quiet.
On the days her burden gets heavy, she thinks of her son and his warmth.
“I just reflect back on every time Jace has brought me the joy and the love that I feel,” she said. “Every day, I wake up and I have to fight — fight for justice for my baby.”