A father is facing child neglect charges after authorities say he left his two young children in a truck while he went inside the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood Sunday.
Anthony Keith Wells, 47, was arrested after the two children, ages one and a half and three months, were left in the truck in the casino’s parking lot, according to the arrest report read in bond court Monday by Judge John Hurley.
Wells was ordered held on $2,000 bond and it was unknown whether he has an attorney.
According to the report, the children were found in Wells’ F-350 seat belted into their car seats with no food or water. They were in the car for at least an hour before police arrived, and the baby was screaming and crying, the report said.
Wells later came out of the elevator carrying boxes of food and drinks, and told officers he had gone to get something to eat, the report said.
The kids were taken to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital to get checked out. Child Protective Services is investigating the incident.
“Sir, I’m very concerned with the level of neglect and at least, at a minimum, poor judgment you allegedly used in this matter. not only could something have happened to the children, they could have choked, who knows what could have happened in the vehicle,” Hurley said during Monday’s court appearance.
Hurley said Wells was lucky he was only arrested.
“As a side to everything, the children could have been abducted, someone could have gone by the car, seen two kids in the car and abducted the children,” Hurley said. “I can promise you the least of your worries right now would have been getting arrested. You could be standing here wondering whatever happened to your children and believe me, there are plenty of people out there who are willing to take your kids, I can assure you of that.”
Hurley decided not to raise the bond for Wells, saying he hoped the dad felt guilty enough. He did order him not to have contact with the children until another judge can make a decision on the matter.
“I’m hoping that the guilt and the maybe shame that this has brought on you which I believe it has, I think I’m looking at your body language and I believe you realize how serious a mistake in judgment this is, I think if I didn’t think that I may do things differently but I think you got it, I think you realize this is a major mistake in your life of poor judgment,” Hurley said.