A 28-year-old man and his 26-year-old wife residing in North Carolina were arrested following allegations that their 1-year-old son fell from the balcony of their third-floor apartment to the ground below.
Jawon Lee Whitley and Siniyah Monchaye Person were taken into custody on Tuesday and each charged with one count of felony negligent child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, according to court records.
Court documents filed in Wake County District Court indicate that deputies from the Wake County Sheriff’s Office responded at approximately 5 p.m. to an apartment complex located in the 4100 block of Chandler Ridge Circle, following a report of an injured toddler. Fire department personnel had requested a law enforcement welfare check after learning that the 1-year-old victim had fallen from a balcony, as stated in an affidavit.
Upon the deputies’ arrival, paramedics were actively administering lifesaving measures to the child and in the process of transporting him to an ambulance, which subsequently took him to WakeMed Hospital for medical treatment.
Deputies spoke with an unrelated child who had been playing outside, who reported witnessing a small child fall from a balcony.
“The child then went to get their parent who ran to the apartment the small child fell from. After knocking at the door for approximately four minutes, an adult opened the door. The adult, identified as Jawon Whitley who is the father, advised their third story balcony door latch is broken, and has been broken for couple months.”
Investigators further noted that the 1-year-old had previously demonstrated the ability to open the balcony door on his own.
In his statement to investigators, Whitley allegedly disclosed that he and Person, whom he identified as his wife, had left the child unattended in the living room alongside three other children, all of whom were under the age of ten.
“The 1-year-old must have opened the door, climbed on top of items on the balcony, and fallen from the upstairs balcony,” the affidavit states.
Deputies present at the scene also reported detecting a strong odor of marijuana emanating from Whitley and Person’s apartment. Whitley allegedly confirmed that marijuana was present within the residence.
According to Whitley’s arrest warrant, both he and Person were asleep at the time their son fell three stories from the balcony. The warrant further states that the child sustained a fractured pelvis and a punctured lung as a result of the fall.
Both parents were subsequently arrested and processed at the Wake County Jail. Whitley is being held on a $50,000 secured bond and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on November 30. Person is being held without bond, according to jail records, and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
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