A Georgia man is behind bars after being found drunk and unconscious along with his intoxicated three-year-old son.
Gainsville, Ga., police arrested 20-year-old Marcus Daniel Allen on Saturday after a family member came home and discovered him passed out in bed.
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Beside Allen was an adult sippy cup filled with an alcoholic beverage and his son, who was acting abnormally and smelling of alcohol.
“It was a juice-form mixed drink,” Gainesville Police Deputy Chief Jay Parrish told 11Alive News. “It had a straw in it, and made it easy and accessible.”
Police say the child was drinking from the cup, and tests showed the toddler’s blood alcohol content was nearly two times the legal driving limit for an adult.
“The child was very lethargic and slurred speech,” said Parrish. “Had the child ingested more alcohol, it could have been fatal.”
Authorities transferred the father and son to hospital for tests.
Police say when they approached a conscious Allen, he attempted to flee into the hospital parking lot.
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Police arrested the man and charged him with child cruelty, reckless conduct, and obstruction.
Allen, who is also below the legal state drinking age, was charged with underage consumption of alcohol.
Police say the boy is recovering and has been returned to his mother’s custody by Georgia Family Child Services.
“I think it just goes to show that to parent and raise a child, we have to be highly vigilant at all times, and have to put the children first and our behaviour second, for their well-being,” Parrish said.
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