The parents of a three- to four-month-old baby face charges after reportedly leaving the infant alone in a McDonald’s.
Police Capt. Chris Costantino said the baby was brought to the restaurant by 31-year-old Aaron Tate, of Euclid.
The father of the baby, Tate was attempting to hand off the infant at about 8 p.m. to her mother, 22-year-old Rachel Jajaa, an employee at the restaurant.
Costantino said the two argued over who would care for the baby over the weekend.
“Neither of them really wanted to take the baby for the weekend,” he said. “They both decided collectively to leave the baby in the dining room.”
Tate and Jajaa then left.
Others in the restaurant at the time immediately called police.
Costantino described the baby girl as bubbly and seemingly in good health. He said she was turned over to Lorain County Children Services.
“Officers were able to track down the parents pretty quickly and (they) were arrested,” Costantino said.
Both have been charged with child endangerment, a first-degree misdemeanor. Both were taken to Lorain County Jail.
“The fact they just left the baby was disturbing, to say the least,” Costantino said. “We are grateful people stepped in so quickly to ensure the child’s safety.”
The public Facebook pages of both Jajaa, spelled Rachel Jaajaa on the social media site, and Tate are full of pictures of the baby. Tate uses a picture of an infant as his profile picture.
As recently as Tuesday, Jajaa captioned a photo of a baby with, “I love when she falls asleep in my arms.”
Agencies/Canadajournal