A Florida man and woman have been arrested after abandoning two young children in a hotel room so they could play at an area arcade.
Cleaning staff at the Vero Beach Inn and Suites heard the children, ages 3 months and 18 months, crying inside the hotel room.
Staff alerted the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, and deputies responded to investigate. They determined that Martina Shaw, 34, and Aaron Doby, 35, had left the children unattended. They were found at an arcade across the street.
EMS responded to the hotel and medically cleared the children. DCF also responded and is investigating.
Deputies determined that Doby went to the front desk at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 2, to extend the hotel stay by one day. He then left the hotel.
Five minutes later, cleaning staff approached the hotel room and heard a child crying. The staff member repeatedly knocked but got no answer. The housekeeper assumed an adult was in the room tending to the child.
Ten minutes later, the housekeeper returned and could still hear the crying child. The staff member entered the room and found the 3-month-old covered in pillows and the 18-month lying on the bed, close to the edge, and not wearing clothes.
The Sheriff’s Office issued a be-on-the-lookout for the vehicle associated with the pair and found it at the Venetian Arcade. Shaw told deputies that the kids had been sleeping when she left to join Doby at the arcade.
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Shaw and Doby, both of the 1500 block of 15th Circle SW, Vero Beach, were arrested at Noon. Each faces two counts of felony child neglect and remains in the county jail in lieu of $10,000 bond.
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