Inset: Stephan Natseway (Metro Detention Center). Background: The bar where Natseway allegedly left his toddlers locked in the car (Google Maps).
A 27-year-old New Mexico father allegedly left his 20-month-old twin sons locked inside a sweltering car outside a nightclub for roughly 2½ hours, telling police he "wanted time for himself" and that he could not leave the bar because "people were dancing with him."
Stephan Natseway was taken into custody and charged with two counts each of child abuse not resulting in great bodily harm, child abandonment not resulting in great bodily harm, and open child abuse. Police also arrested Orry Morris, Natseway's friend, alleging he knew the children had been left in the vehicle while the adults were in the bar, court records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, officers with the Albuquerque Police Department responded to a call at the Dirty Bourbon Dance Hall & Saloon in the 9800 block of Montgomery Blvd. NE, at 1:34 a.m. Saturday after a security guard reported seeing two children in the back seat of a vehicle with no adults around. The caller also reported that the children were sweating, according to the affidavit.
By the time officers arrived, security guards had broken the driver's window to get inside the vehicle. Officers began tending to the boys as two men approached and said the vehicle belonged to them.
Natseway identified himself as the father of the toddlers and was immediately handcuffed and escorted to a patrol vehicle. He then agreed to speak with investigators, the affidavit states.
"Stephan advised he left his children in the vehicle while he went to Dirty Bourbon to have time for himself," police wrote. "He advised he was aware of the children being in the vehicle and had tried to call family members to watch the kids for the night. However, no family members were available. He stated he drove to Dirty Bourbon and would not have stayed long but due to people dancing with him he was unable to leave."
Natseway told police he arrived at the nightclub at 10:30 p.m., though his identification was scanned by employees at 10:54 p.m. Officers received the call about the children at 1:33 a.m., according to the affidavit.
That put the twins inside the vehicle for about 2½ hours.
The boys were found strapped into car seats with the vehicle's windows rolled up, but the seats were not secured to the car, local NBC affiliate KOB reported. Officers described the children as drenched in sweat and extremely lethargic.
"The kids were very lethargic, seemed to be unconscious at the time but they were breathing," Albuquerque police spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos told local Fox affiliate KRQE. "Once they pulled them out of car seats they started to come to and regain consciousness. Officers noticed right away their clothes were drenched with sweat, they had soiled themselves."
Body-camera footage obtained by local news outlets captured officers reacting as they pulled the twins from the vehicle.
"Oh he is just soaked. He is soaked," one officer said, according to KOB. Another officer who grabbed the second sibling responded, "My guy is too."
Prosecutors argued in a detention motion that Natseway "endangered the lives and safety of his two children by leaving them in a hot car."
"They are unable to care for themselves. Security found them sweating and alone in a car for approximately 2½ hours," prosecutors wrote in court documents obtained by the Santa Fe New Mexican. "Even if the heat is not accounted for, the Defendant placed the children in danger so that he could go dancing. While they were alone in the car, a stranger could have kidnapped the children."
Police said Natseway's response after the children were rescued also drew their attention. Gallegos told KRQE that officers noticed he did not ask about the boys' condition.
"In that little bit of time he didn't ask once how the children were, if they were OK or not," Gallegos said. "That did strike the officers, they did comment on that he didn't show much concern about what was going on with the kids."
Body-camera footage also captured Natseway asking whether he was going to jail, according to KOB.
"It just appeared like he had no remorse. He was more concerned about the fact that he was in trouble," Gallegos said.
While Morris was initially charged in connection with the incident, prosecutors later dropped his charges while the investigation continued, the New Mexican reported.
Natseway was being held at the Metro Detention Center without bond as of Tuesday afternoon, records show.
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