A 50-year-old man was arrested in May after he left a five-year-old child alone at a Florida Keys resort’s beach while he was drinking at a bar.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Luis Fernando Del Ra Ortiz, a resident of Key Largo, was charged with child neglect, disorderly intoxication, resisting arrest, battery, and assault. He was lodged into a county jail on Plantation Key in the Upper Keys.
The incident came to light when police officers responded to a 911 call about a drunk man with a small child at Gilbert’s Resort located on Key Largo at around 3.30 p.m. on May 2 this year.
Investigators say the man was allegedly yelling and causing a scene after the resort declined to serve him additional alcoholic drinks after resort staff learned that a child, who could not swim, in his care was left unattended on the resort beach and swim area.
Sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt said employees were forced to care for the child for several hours. Ortiz allegedly yelled at employees, even threatened to harm them with a gun, and grabbed one of the employees. According to the sheriff’s office, initial reports suggest Ortiz didn’t brandish a gun during the incident.
View this post on Instagram
At one point during the confrontation, Ortiz boarded a docked boat with the five-year-old, leaving employees concerned about the child’s safety if Ortiz operated the vessel.
Ortiz reportedly also refused to cooperate with deputies during arrest. He refused to put his hands behind his back and resisted being placed in a patrol car when deputies tried to arrest him. Deputies later contacted a family member who picked up the child. Florida Department of Children and Families were also notified about the incident.
The video of the incident was posted on Gilbert’s Resort’s Facebook page, saying, “The guy who owns this is my family.” In the now-unavailable post, the staff mentioned, “Small detail. … The owner is a woman. So not only is he wrong — he’s confidently wrong.”
Another police bodycam footage was shared on Instagram and has received criticism from more than 300 netizens.
A user wrote, “The hypocrisy is insane!” Another commented, “There nothing worse when trying to enjoy yourself than having to put up with an angry drunk. Maybe he has some ptsd he’s dealing with, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior.”
A third one called the man a “walking contradiction.”
Disclaimer: The Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available within the public video record.
