A homeless Arizona couple has been charged with child abuse after leaving their five-year-old son alone in a car as they gambled at a casino.
Police in Scottsdale arrested 23-year-old Brad Porter Jr. on Sunday, along with his girlfriend, 25-year-old Jessica Lopez, who is the boy’s mother.
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Porter told local media that he and Lopez were at the casino for a couple of hours desperately trying to use their final $40 to make some money.
Porter said they checked on the boy every 30 minutes.
“I wasn’t trying to put him in harm’s way, if anything I was just trying to provide something for us so we would be OK for the next couple of days,” Porter told KPNX from inside a county jail.
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A tearful Porter, who is not the child’s biological father, said he recently lost his job. He added that the couple and the boy had been living out of their car for the past three or four days.
“I didn’t want us sleeping in the car,” Porter told KPNX.
Investigators say they found alcohol and marijuana in the couple’s vehicle and believed the pair had been drinking at the casino.
Porter and Lopez face child abuse, neglect and drug charges.
“I should have made better decisions for our family,” Porter said.
Porter is being held without bond for previous drug charges.