{"id":1203,"date":"2026-06-02T20:37:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1203"},"modified":"2026-06-02T20:37:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:37:18","slug":"opa-locka-parks-director-charged-after-child-left-alone-in-car-8-hours-records-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1203","title":{"rendered":"Opa-locka Parks director charged after child left alone in car 8+ hours, records show"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The director of parks and recreation for the City of Opa-locka is facing a criminal citation after authorities said she left a 5-year-old child unattended inside a vehicle overnight for more than eight hours.<\/p>\n

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According to court records, Parks and Recreation Director Zonya Ray was cited in connection with the incident, which occurred on March 11.<\/p>\n

Investigators said the child was discovered around 6 a.m. in the parking lot of an Opa-locka government building on 12950 Northwest 42nd Avenue.<\/p>\n

Records indicate Ray had been transporting juveniles to a football practice and was unaware that the child had entered her vehicle.<\/p>\n

Ray acknowledged she failed to inspect the vehicle before leaving for the night, and the child remained inside the vehicle until the following morning, when Ray realized the child was missing and returned to the parking lot, records showed.<\/p>\n

Police cited Ray for leaving a child unattended in a vehicle with the engine turned off, stating that her actions demonstrated disregard for the child’s safety.<\/p>\n

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Erick Cruz, a criminal defense attorney not involved in the case, said the charge is a second-degree misdemeanor under Florida law.<\/p>\n

“She was cited for leaving the child unattended in the vehicle, which in the state of Florida is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail,” Cruz said.<\/p>\n

Cruz added that while Ray was not physically arrested and booked into jail, she was formally charged and signed a promise to appear in court instead of posting bond.<\/p>\n

Court records do not specify the relationship between Ray and the child, nor do they indicate whether the child suffered any injuries as a result of the incident.<\/p>\n

The City of Opa-locka has not responded to NBC6’s request for comment. The city’s website still lists Ray as the director of parks and recreation.<\/p>\n

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Ray, via phone call, declined to comment about the allegations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The director of parks and recreation for the City of Opa-locka is facing a criminal citation after authorities said she left a 5-year-old child unattended\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-only-on-6"],"yoast_head":"\nOpa-locka Parks director charged after child left alone in car 8+ hours, records show - Jacksonville Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1203\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Opa-locka Parks director charged after child left alone in car 8+ hours, records show - 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