Officers: Child dials 911, parents passed out

Austin L. Miller

Ocala.com

Staff writer

Published: Sunday, August 22, 2010 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, August 22, 2010 at 12:33 a.m.

 

A 42-year-old man and his 39-year-old wife were found passed out in their Southwest Ocala home after their 6-year-old son called 911 from a cell phone, according to Marion County sheriff’s officials.

The parents, Michael Dean Patrick and his wife, Nicole, were arrested Friday by sheriff’s deputies and charged with child neglect, according to officials.

Sgt. David Hopkins was the first to arrive on scene and said he noticed the juvenile was in front of the home. The boy called the Sheriff’s Office and told a dispatcher that his father was asleep on the floor near the bed and his mother was sleeping on the kitchen floor, authorities said. The boy told the dispatcher he could not wake up his parents.

Entering the residence, Hopkins said he saw the man, later identified as Patrick, in the master bedroom lying on the bed. Marion County Fire Rescue personnel were summoned. Officials were able to wake up Patrick, who they say had slurred speech and difficulty standing.

Patrick told officials he takes medications and showed them the prescription bottles. Officials say the man told them he drank one alcoholic beverage.

Covered with a blanket and lying on the kitchen floor in a puddle of milk was Patrick’s wife, Nicole, authorities said. The little boy said he poured milk on his mother in an attempt to wake her up.

Disoriented and her speech slurred, the woman told officials she also took medications, but was unable to provide any proof, deputies said. Officials say she had a hard time staying awake, and when she did, she kept asking her husband why she was on the kitchen floor, how long had been she passed out, and where was her medication.

A couple who live nearby told officials that on more than one occasion they saw the little boy outside between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., deputies said. The couple said when they asked him if his parents knew he was outside, he told them no.

Another neighbor told officials she rarely sees the boy’s mother, and that the boy’s father would keep the 6-year-old outside or playing in the garage for several hours because his wife was frequently sleeping.

Deputy John Gernert noted in his report that last December, they went to the residence after the little boy was struck in the head by a 35-inch television that fell in the boy’s bedroom. The little boy was flown to Shands at the University of Florida Hospital in Gainesville for treatment.

The Department of Children and Families was notified and the child was handed over to a family member, authorities said.

The Patricks were then arrested and charged with child neglect. Both were released from the Marion County Jail early Saturday morning on $2,000 bond each.

Contacted by phone, Michael Patrick denied any child neglect and hung up.

It’s the second time in two days that a parent has been found passed out inside a home by a child unable to wake the parent up.

On Friday, deputies arrested Amanda Branda and charged the pregnant 31-year-old Summerfield woman with inhalation of a harmful chemical substance.

It was her third arrest for the same offense since April.

In Friday’s incident, her two boys were unable to wake her up after she had locked herself inside a bedroom, authorities said. When medics kicked open the door, they said they found her lying on the bed with an aerosol can beside her. The can was later identified as Maxwell “Blast Away” multi-purpose duster, authorities said.

Branda was released on $250 bond Friday night.