Police in east-central Florida arrested a Georgia couple who were found drunk on vacation there on Saturday and charged them with child neglect, among other charges, according to reports.
Timothy Stevens and his fiance Alicia Langley, both 27, are facing charges of felony neglect, and Stevens is also facing charges of attempting to elude arrest and possession of an alcoholic beverage on the beach in Daytona Beach. The New York Post (NYP) reported that he has been indicted.
WESH 2 News aired video of the couple’s encounter with police.
“What’s going on?” the officer says to the sleeping couple in the video. “Sheriff’s Office. Time to wake up.”
But neither the policeman’s words nor Stevens’ urgings could rouse them.
The officer yelled, “Sheriff’s Office, wake up!” He shook Stevens until he finally turned to the side and raised his head.
“Welcome home,” said the policeman. “Sit down…do you have some ID?”
Langley finally woke up and asked Stevens to give the officer his identification.
“Guys, do you have any children? Are they with you?” the officer asked.
Another officer repeated the question, and Langley answered, “Yes,” while searching his bag. Stevens stumbled to his feet and appeared unsteady.
“Please tell me where the children are,” the officer asked Mr. Stevens, who now seemed somewhat alarmed and wanted to know where the children were. Stevens was seen on video approaching the water and calling out to the children as officers stood nearby.
“How old are they?” asked the officer.
“7 o’clock and 8 o’clock.”
“Boys? Girls? Boys and girls?”
“A boy and a girl.”
The video does not show the couple being handcuffed. But when Stevens sped away, officers are shown taking Langley to a police truck. Soon, he fell face first onto the sand, causing laughter from other beachgoers and losing consciousness.
“Call an ambulance,” one police officer said, and another patted Stephen on the neck and yelled, “Wake up, wake up!” (RELATED: Video shows police confronting boy who tries to point gun at crowd at Florida beach)
part of the video Broadcast on WSVN 7 News Both men were left handcuffed and Stephen’s displeased face showed Langley yelling, “Who’s going to tie us up?”
The couple’s two children were found safely swimming unsupervised in the hotel pool where they were all staying. according to WSB-TV2.
“I went to read the report and thought, ‘This must be a joke,'” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood told WSB-TV 2.
Although Mr Stevens was reportedly not the father of the children, he and Mr Langley are legally responsible for their care. The children called him “dad” and “other dad.”
According to WSB-TV 2, the two men posted bail and were released the next day. Langley’s grandfather reportedly offered to take custody of the children.
