His dad went to a bar. He died in a hot car. Man charged 18-month-old son's death
A Florida man who law enforcement said left his child in a hot car for hours while he said he went to a barbershop and a bar has been arrested in connection to the toddler's death.
Scott Allen Gardner, 33, remained jailed on June 25 charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect causing great bodily harm after the death of his 18-month-old son Sebastian, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office reported.
The Ormond Beach father left his son in a child seat in the back of his vehicle for about three hours in the middle of the day on June 6 when the temperature reached around 90 degrees, officer wrote in the affidavit obtained by the Daytona Beach News-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
The toddler was left in his father's truck while his dad, court papers show, got a haircut and visited visited Hanky Panky's Lounge in Ormond Beach for beers and shots.
The beach is directly north of Daytona Beach.
According to a charging affidavit in the case, the boy had been dead for at least an hour by the time he was taken to a hospital.
Officials said the father told them he left Sebastian in the back seat with the windows down and only a small battery-operated fan pointed at the child. Gardner said he did not leave the air conditioner running in the vehicle and there is no indication he checked on the child, the affidavit reads.
The child was pronounced deceased at AdventHealth Daytona Beach.
Officials: Sebastian Gardner's temperature reached 111 degrees
During the investigation, Gardner lied about what took place that day, according to a release from the sheriff's office.
"He said the windows were down, but he's a lying sack of (expletive) on a lot of other stuff," Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said during a press conference.
Medical personnel estimated Sebastian's body temperature reached 111 degrees during the tragedy the Ormond Beach Police Department also responded to.
"The same OBPD officer who tried to revive Sebastian placed Gardner in handcuffs today as he was taken into custody at his mother's home in Ormond Beach," the sheriff's office wrote in the day of his June 19 arrest.
Lightning hits group: 20 people struck by single lightning bolt in South Carolina
Gardner's attorney: 'A difficult situation'
On June 24, a judge ordered Gardner be held without bail during a pretrial detention hearing.
Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak asked to keep Gardner in jail while his case goes through the court system after Detective Shon McGuire testified Gardner had threatened to beat up or punch the doctor who informed him that his son was dead.
McGuire also said Gardner made suicidal statements at the hospital witnessed by law enforcement and medical staff which led to Gardner being Baker Acted − which allows for someone to be involuntarily committed for psychiatric evaluation. However, McGuire said Gardner was checked out and released from a Baker Act facility later that same day.
After Gardner was released, the detective testified, the defendant went to Hanky Panky's to continue drinking. McGuire also said Gardner had asked a friend for help in getting out of the country.
Gardner's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Larry Avallone, said Gardner and his mother were drinking together at Hanky Panky's hours after the boy died and was brought to the hospital, the affidavit stated. The lawyer said Gardner reacted at the hospital like someone going through a difficult situation.
If convicted, prosecutors said Gardner faces a prison sentence of up to 45 years.
It was not immediately known when Gardner is due in court again.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
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