Watch CBS News

Man Accused Of Leaving 7-Year-Old Boy In Car While Shoplifting

DEERFIELD BEACH (CBS4) - A Deerfield Beach man's sense of style has landed him behind bars on petit theft and child neglect charges.

Jeffrey Barbosa De Sousa, 22, is accused of leaving a 7-year-old boy in a parked car while he shoplifted Ralph Lauren shirts from a Marshalls store at 3852 W. Hillsboro Blvd, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

After discovering the child wandering outside the car, Broward Sheriff's Office deputies took the boy into the store and called his mother, who came to the shopping center to pick him up. The child's mother reportedly told police that she left the boy in De Sousa's care for the day.

According to the arrest affidavit, the child told BSO deputies what he was left alone outside for about an hour. Meanwhile, De Sousa was detained by a store security officer after seeing him remove tags from five Ralph Lauren shirts and stuff them down his pants. The shirts had a sticker price of $34.99 a piece.

During a court appearance Monday, Broward Circuit Court Judge John "Jay" Hurley referred to De Sousa and the boy as brothers. Hurley ordered De Sousa held with no bond due to a prior petit theft case from June for which he was already out on bond. De Sousa is also ordered to have no contact with the boy.

Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.