A Florida father accused of leaving his young son in a truck for hours while he went to the barbershop and out for drinks at a bar — and then went back to the same bar later that night after his son died — has been arrested in the toddler’s death.
Scott Allen Gardner, 33, was taken into custody Thursday on charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect causing great bodily harm, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
Gardner is being held at the Volusia County jail without bond. It’s not clear if he has obtained an attorney.
Authorities said Gardner’s 18-month-old son, Sebastian, was left in a truck for more than three hours on June 6 when it was about 90 degrees outside.
Investigators said the windows were slightly down, and Gardner had a small fan on but it didn’t help.
“This father is a human piece of garbage, and he’s a lying sack of s—,” Sheriff Michael Chitwood said at a news conference. “He’s actually where he belongs to be, behind bars. … There’s no reason for this little boy to be dead.”
The child’s mother lives in another county, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities said Gardner arrived at Classic Cuts around 11:30 a.m. and left Sebastian in the car while he got a haircut. Around noon, he went across the street to Hanky Panky’s Lounge, where authorities said Gardner drank beer and had shots for nearly three hours.
He left the bar around 2:40 p.m., drove a short distance to his mother’s home and called 911, the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff Chitwood said Ormond Beach police responded to the call and when they arrived, the child was dead. The hospital said the boy’s temperature was over 107 degrees, the sheriff said. Hospital staff believe the car got up to 111 degrees.
Authorities believe the child was dead for about two hours before Gardner called 911.
In body camera footage released by the department, Gardner was seen begging an officer to help his son.
According to the sheriff, later that night Gardner picked up his mother and they went back to Hanky Panky’s for drinks. Authorities do not believe Gardner’s mother was aware of what happened.
Chitwood ripped into Gardner.
“I don’t think there’s a penalty on this Earth that could ever fit for the crime that was committed here,” he told reporters. “It absolutely shocks the conscience.”
