Teen father held after baby is abandoned in parking lot
A 16-day-old baby found in the parking lot of a Suisun City strip mall was in a hospital in critical condition Tuesday, and his 18-year-old father was under arrest on suspicion of abandoning him, police said.
The newborn was discovered about 3 p.m. on Monday sitting in a baby car seat in the busy parking lot of the Sunset Shopping Center in the 100 block of Sunset Avenue, police said.
Police didn’t immediately notice anything wrong with the infant, but sent him to North Bay Medical Center in Fairfield as a precaution. Once at the hospital, doctors determined the child was in critical but stable condition, said Cmdr. Andrew White of the Suisun City Police Department.
White said he could not release further details on the child and that police are not sure if the infant’s failing health is directly related to Monday’s incident.
The newborn’s father, Daniel Mitchell, was arrested later Monday when he was involved in a hit-and-run crash in Fairfield, White said. Mitchell was taken into custody after being treated for injuries at North Bay Medical Center. He was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment, child abandonment, committing a felony while on bail and a misdemeanor possession of suspected cocaine, police said.
Wendell Cooper, owner of J’s Barber Shop and Hair Salon in the Sunset Shopping Center, said a customer walked into his business and said, “There’s a baby in the parking lot.” Cooper said he walked to his window and saw a car seat in the middle of the parking lot — which was bustling with vehicles.
“It’s a real dangerous spot where that baby was sitting,” Cooper said. “A lot of people don’t even look.”
He said two barbers went outside, pulled back the blankets and found the baby, whimpering and sucking on a pacifier. They brought him inside and waited about 10 minutes before calling the police, thinking someone would come back for him.
Cooper said the baby seemed healthy and happy to be around everyone in the barber shop, and barely made a sound.
The barbers went next door to check the surveillance tape of the smoke shop. They saw a man pull up, put the baby on the ground and hesitate. He started to pick up the car seat, but quickly set it down and drove off, Cooper said.
The barbers called police at 3:15 p.m.
Suisun City police officers interviewed Mitchell at the hospital and, with the help of witnesses and surveillance footage, determined he is the father of the infant, White said.
The baby’s mother provided a statement to the police and is not considered a suspect. The baby was placed into the custody of Solano County Child Protective Services.
Suisun City police previously arrested Mitchell on June 27 on suspicion of possessing a firearm, officials said.
The day after finding the baby, the barbers at J’s were still in shock.
“I got kids, and all the barbers got kids,” he said. “It’s really heartbreaking.”