Inset: Larry Donell Lee (Craighead County Sheriff's Department). Background: The suburban area where Lee allegedly left his infant son in a car seat on the ground in Jonesboro, Ark. (Google Maps).
An Arkansas man was recently arrested after his infant son was left alone in a car seat outside on the ground for roughly half an hour, according to law enforcement in the Natural State.
Larry Donell Lee, 22, stands accused of one count each of felony child endangerment with risk of death or serious injury, and misdemeanor failure to appear, according to the Jonesboro Police Department and Craighead County Sheriff's Department.
The underlying incident occurred on Nov. 6, outside a residence on Churchill Drive in Jonesboro — a medium-sized college town located roughly 70 miles northwest of Memphis, Tennessee.
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On the day in question, Lee had the baby so the mother could run some errands, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Jonesboro-based ABC, NBC, and The CW Plus affiliate KAIT.
But the mom's day of errands ended with a harrowing shock.
"When she arrived home, she found the infant in his car seat placed on the ground in front of the door," the affidavit reads. "The child had vomited on himself and was crying. She estimated that the infant had been left outside alone for approximately 30 minutes."
Prior to the little boy's predicament, his parents had been arguing about something on the phone, according to law enforcement.
The exact nature of that argument, however, is currently unclear.
"During the argument, Lee told her that he was returning the child to her residence," the affidavit goes on. "The mother informed him multiple times that she was not yet home, but Lee said he did not believe her."
The mother repeatedly insisted she was not yet home, authorities say. Still, the defendant was allegedly determined to leave – and to leave the child to his own devices, outside, on the front porch.
The child's mother said Lee told her: "He is waiting on you."
"She told Lee she was calling the police and that he could not leave the infant outside alone," the affidavit continues.
Court records obtained by Law&Crime show a man with the same name as Lee subject to a child support enforcement case in Craighead County as of late October. The child in that case is 4 months old.
On Tuesday, Lee was arrested by the Jonesboro Police Department, jail records show. On Wednesday, Craighead County District Court Judge Tommy Fowler found probable cause to sustain the child endangerment charge and issued a no-contact order.
The defendant is currently detained in the Craighead County Jail on $25,000 bond. He is next slated to appear in court on Dec. 16.