Bridgeport, Conn. (September 16, 2015) – Today, the Bridgeport Police Department announced the arrest of a man who left a three-year-old child in a vehicle overnight. Jeffrey Mejias, Jr. (DOB 03/06/93) has been charged with risk of injury to a child. His bond has been set at $20,000.  On September 12, 2015 at 7:00 a.m., a 911 call came in from a woman stating that she found a three-year-old child in a motor vehicle on Arctic St. who was left there overnight. A witness at the scene of the incident stated that she saw the child in the vehicle, crouching in the middle section of the vehicle between the front and back seats.  The witness called 911 and was told to see if the car door was unlocked and remove the child.  The witness found the door unlocked, removed the child from the vehicle, and held the child on her porch until medics arrived.

Upon arrival on scene, police officers were joined by medical professionals who examined the child, finding no injuries and that the child was in good physical condition.  Police officers searched the motor vehicle, a tan 2002 Pontiac, finding a tire iron in the front passenger seat and the right front tire flat.  Medics then transported the three-year-old child to Bridgeport Hospital.  Police officers left the scene to visit the address where the vehicle in which the child was found is registered.  The registered owner told police officers that the vehicle is used by her grandson who lives with his girlfriend at an address near where the vehicle was originally found.  Police officers left the home of the registered owner of the vehicle to visit the alternative address given by the owner. In doing so, police officers found the child’s mother. The child’s mother was unaware that the child was not in the home. And, the mother stated that she was working the night before until 2 a.m. When the mother returned home, she found her bedroom door locked, and assumed the child was in the room with the mother’s boyfriend.  The mother was immediately taken to Bridgeport Hospital to see the child. Police officers began to search for the boyfriend, Jeffrey Mejias, Jr. (DOB 03/06/93). While police officers were towing Mejias’s vehicle, he returned to the scene. Mejias reported that he and the child were in the vehicle when the tire went flat. Mejias admitted that he had a lot to drink that night and went inside the home to get something and simply fell asleep in the bedroom.  Mejias was arrested on scene without incident.