Luis Enrique Rodriguez and Jacqueline Sanchez of Hialeah, Florida were arrested last Friday after their two-year-old son fell out of the window of their hotel room, news sources report. The victim is reportedly in critical condition. Rodriguez, 26, and Sanchez, 27, were booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail on charges of suspected child abuse. The press did not say whether they qualified for bail. It is unclear whether the defendants have hired a criminal defense lawyer.
According to reports, Rodriguez and Sanchez have two sons, aged two and five months. For two days prior to the accident, the family had been staying in a second-story room at the El Paraiso Motel on West Okeechobee Road in Hialeah. It is unclear whether the family had a listed address in South Florida.
Based on reports, the incident occurred late on Friday night at the hotel. Few details are available, but sources say the couple's two-year-old son somehow fell from the window of the hotel room. The child sustained critical injuries and was rushed to the Jackson Memorial Hospital, according to reports. An update on his condition was not immediately available at press time.
Detectives reportedly searched Rodriguez and Sanchez's hotel room following the incident. The room allegedly contained signs of cocaine use, sources allege. The Department of Children and Families got involved in the incident and took temporary custody of the couple's five-month-old baby. It is not clear whether the child will be placed with a relative as the case progresses.
Rodriguez and Sanchez were not the only South Floridians arrested this past week on accusations of child abuse. Escambia County resident Steven Grady Fillingim was arrested after he allegedly whipped a young girl with a cord, beat her, and forced her to do laborious exercises as punishment, sources report. Fillingim, 40, was booked into the Escambia County Jail on three counts of child abuse. It is unclear whether he qualified for bail or hired legal representation.