A Texas man is facing child neglect charges after Miami Beach Police say his 12-year-old foster son was found running through traffic wearing only his underwear.
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Francisco Javier Lara, 55, of Austin, is accused of leaving his two foster kids, who have autism, alone.
Body camera footage shows officers responding after witnesses reported seeing the boy running in and out of traffic on Thursday.
Police said he ran into a nearby home before officers safely took him into custody. They traced a cell number to Lara, locating him at a hotel on Collins Avenue, where investigators said another foster child was still inside.
“We made contact in the room, and we asked (Lara) was he missing someone. He looked back and confirmed that he was missing his child,” said Miami Beach Police spokesperson Christopher Bess. “At that point, we discovered there was someone else, another child, in the room.”
Investigators said Lara appeared disoriented and smelled of alcohol.
“Had it not been for the witnesses who saw this kid in traffic, he could’ve seriously got hurt,” Bess said.
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In bond court Friday, a judge found probable cause for two counts of child neglect and ordered Lara to stay away from the children.
“Both of my kids have autism; they are high needs, and so I made a bad choice last night,” Lara told the judge.
Both children have diagnosed mental health disorders, police said. Victim advocates provided them with food, clothing and shoes before they were released to the Department of Children and Families.
Lara’s bond was set at $2,000. He told police he brought his two foster children to Miami Beach for vacation.
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