Rosenberg police arrested a 55-year-old man Wednesday, who allegedly fell asleep while caring for a 2-year-old boy later found wandering the streets alone.
Rosenberg Police officers Sheila McWilliams and Danielle Delgado were called to the 700 block of Vera Cruz Drive in west Rosenberg’s Little Mexico community Wednesday morning, after witnesses saw a young child walking through the streets by himself, according to police reports.
The officers learned that an unidentified couple had discovered the child and took him to Tri Mart grocery store at 502 Blume Road.
According to reports, the 2-year-old boy, known as Jacob, was taken to the Rosenberg Police Department “where he was given a shower and a change of clothes.” Jacob then was placed in the custody of Texas Child Protective Services.
Police took a picture of Jacob and went door-to-door in the west Rosenberg neighborhood. At 12:36, according to police reports, a family member recognized Jacob’s picture.
“The child had been left in the care of his grandfather,” police reports stated. “The grandfather fell asleep while supervising the child. Little Jacob proceeded to leave the house and wander the streets.”
Police arrested the grandfather, Guadalupe Jimenez, 55, of Rosenberg, on charges of abandonment/endangering a child. Jimenez was taken to Fort Bend County Jail in Richmond.
A police spokesman said CPS returned Jacob to his parents after determining they were not at fault in the incident.
The boy’s mother was at work, and his father was asleep in his house when the grandfather entered the house with Jacob. The grandfather didn’t wake the father to alert him of their arrival, and instead fell asleep himself, police said.
“He was precious,” Rosenberg Police spokeswoman Carol Rees said of the boy. “He was very comfortable with strangers. He was very willing to go with the officers.”
She said he was “quite happy” during his stay at the police station, adding, “We gave him a sponge cake and some toys to play with.”
