A Patchogue man was arrested Monday for leaving his two children unattended in a locked car amid freezing temperatures while he went shopping, Suffolk County police said.
The two boys, a 5-month-old baby and a 5-year-old, were left alone in the Patchogue Village parking lot for approximately 15 minutes before officers arrived around 5:40 p.m., police said.
The responding officer discovered the boys inside the 1999 Mazda, which was locked and not running, police said. The temperature outside at the time was a frigid 25 degrees, police said.
Their father, Luis Lucero Fajardo, 32, was arrested when he returned to his car and was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Officers also discovered that Lucero does not have a driver’s license and was driving an uninsured vehicle, which was subsequently suspended, police said.
He will be arraigned Tuesday at First District Court in Central Islip.
Police said they intended to notify Suffolk County Department of Social Services.
