Inset: Andre Farris (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office). Background: The apartment complex where Farris allegedly left his daughter alone in Phoenix, Ariz. (Google Maps).
An Arizona man has been arrested after leaving his 10-month-old daughter alone in a sweltering apartment for hours on end, according to law enforcement in the Grand Canyon State.
Andre Farris, 19, stands accused of child abuse, according to the Phoenix Police Department and Maricopa County prosecutors.
The underlying incident occurred on July 29 at the Sonoran Flats apartments on North 7th Street in Phoenix, according to a probable cause statement obtained by Law&Crime.
The charging document is unclear about what led to the discovery of the infant but says she was found by apartment maintenance workers "alone in a stroller in the vacant apartment."
At the time of the discovery, the windows in the unit were open and the air conditioning was "turned off," police said.
"When maintenance workers initially entered the apartment [the workers] found the indoor temperature to be 91 degrees Fahrenheit," the charging document reads. "The victim was restrained in the stroller without access to food or water."
One item that might once have passed for food was within reach, according to law enforcement.
"When officers arrived on scene they saw that the only food item within reach of the baby was a bottle that contained only an approximate quarter inch of rancid milk," the statement goes on.
Law enforcement confirmed with management at the building that the defendant was the person renting the unit in question, according to the charging document. Then, investigators confirmed with family members that Farris was the infant's biological father, police said.
So, police waited. And waited.
"Officers were on scene for approximately two hours without Andre Farris returning to the scene," the statement continues. "The baby was transported for precautionary reasons to Phoenix Children's Hospital where Andre Farris arrived and was placed under arrest."
Investigators are also unclear exactly how long the little girl was alone.
The charging document begins by alleging the 10-month-old was by herself, and being abused, "for an unknown length of time."
The defendant was booked and detained in the Maricopa County Jail on $25,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 5.
In the event Farris makes bond, he is not allowed to have contact with his daughter or any other minor, court records show.