Police fi nd 3-year- old under trash in car
The interior of the Chevy Cavalier was filled with damaged windows, dumpster debris, spoiled food and cigarette butts. And underneath all that — to the surprise of a Columbus police officer — a naked 3-year-old boy.
The discovery of the child happened around 1:30 a.m. Sunday in a parking lot at the rear of a building in the 300 block of East 16th Avenue in the University District.
The boy’s father, Arthur T. Fullard, 27, of Worthington, is now in the Franklin County jail, charged with endangering children, possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bond has been set at $45,000. The boy was turned over to the custody of Franklin County Children’s Services.
According to Franklin County court records, here’s what happened: Columbus Police Officer Gary Patterson and Ohio State University Police Officer Scott Holbert were on joint patrol early Sunday morning when they saw a blue Chevy Cavalier with its trunk open.
The junk inside the Cavalier appeared to have been unloaded from a dumpster.
Officers were preparing to leave when Patterson suddenly noticed “a small hand inside the debris.”
Upon closer inspection, the officers found the boy, naked and asleep underneath the rubble and clutching an adult-size jacket. He was jammed into a safety seat that was too small for him. The child was not belted into the seat and the seat was not secured in place.
Fullard, who appeared slightly disoriented and was sweating profusely, approached the car and admitted to officers that he is the boy’s father. The officers suspected that Fullard was under the influence of drugs.
When questioned, Fullard gave evasive answers. He allowed Patterson to search him and the officer found foil with black marks in one pocket; a glass pipe was found in another pocket.
Under further questioning, Fullard admitted that there was heroin stashed in his wallet inside his car, which Holbert found.
A search of the vehicle also turned up a box of drug paraphernalia.
Fullard also had an active warrant for failing to appear on another drug charge out of Delaware County.