Men hailed as heroes after saving baby from Stockton dumpster

STOCKTON -- Two men are being hailed as heroes for saving the life of a newborn who was left in a dumpster at a north Stockton apartment complex.

Stockton police Officer Joseph Silva said officers were called to a report of a baby being found in a dumpster about 11:43 a.m. Tuesday at the Winslow Village Apartment in the 5900 block of Village Green Drive in north Stockton.

The newborn was found alive and is doing well, he said. The baby was transported an area hospital and is in the care of Child Protective Services.

Detectives found the baby’s mother, who is underage, at the complex and she too was taken to a hospital for treatment, Silva said. The 15-year-old girl was cited for felony child abuse and endangerment and will be released to her parents’ custody.

Troy Cooper, who was the first to find the newborn, still is in disbelief.

He said he believes there was a greater force that called on him to find the baby.

“I don’t consider myself to be hero, I just believe in divine intervention,” he said. “My higher power told me to go check that out.”

Cooper, who lives and parks his vehicle near the dumpster where the newborn was found, was returning home from visiting a friend when he heard what he described as a kitten and a baby crying at the same time. Normally, he’d just assume it was a cat and ignore it, but something told him to investigate the sound and it was then that he saw movement.

He was unable to get into the dumpster so Cooper called on the apartment’s on-site manager, John Pedebone, for help.

“I tried to listen and I saw the bag was moving,” Pedebone said. “My first thought was that it was probably a dog, but when I listened carefully, I could hear the baby.”

Pedebone jumped into the nearly empty container and picked up the baby. The little boy, who still had his umbilical cord and was covered in blood, had been wrapped in a blanket and placed inside an opened plastic bag.

The father of four said all he could think about was the baby’s health.

“I was more concerned with the baby’s heart,” Pedebone said. “The trash bin is empty and that’s a far way in and that’s the only thing I was worried about.”

Pedebone rewrapped the infant in the blanket and held him to keep him warm until medics arrived.

Authorities said the men are heroes and likely prevented the newborn’s death, especially on a day that saw triple-digit temperatures.

It was very hot on Tuesday, and if the men didn’t spring into action as quickly as they did, “this could have turned into a tragedy,” Silva said.

Under state law, a parent or custodian can anonymously surrender a baby within 72 hours of birth without being charged with a crime, but must do so at a designated safe surrender site.

Stockton has safe surrender sites at all Stockton Fire Department stations and emergency room hospitals, Silva said.