A Waffle House employee was arrested after leaving his 10-year-old son behind his workplace in Roswell for about an hour while he bought alcohol with a coworker, authorities said.
At some point, he allegedly drank enough miniature bottles of liquor that he passed out beside a dumpster when he returned, leaving the child to try to wake him up, according to a Roswell police incident report.
Nicholas Dante Dejohnette, 32, of Peachtree Corners, was charged with reckless conduct after the Sept. 2 incident at the Waffle House at 2850 Holcomb Bridge Road, Channel 2 Action News reported. Other employees at the restaurant called 911 after finding Dejohnette’s son struggling to wake up his father.
“We responded to a report of a 10-year-old child who was found standing behind the business near a dumpster trying to wake his father, who had apparently passed out,” Lt. Noah Caplan told Channel 2.
When officers found Dejohnette, he was “just now regaining consciousness,” the report said. His coworker was also at the scene, and an officer said “he was unsteady while standing and was unable to speak clearly.”
The child told officers that his father would often take him to the restaurant, having him sit outside while he worked his shift.
“Obviously leaving your child outside while you’re inside and you don’t have visual contact with him is not a good idea,” Caplan told Channel 2.
The child was turned over to his mother, while Dejohnette was booked into the Fulton County jail. The Division of Family and Children Services was also contacted.
Dejohnette was released four days later on a $1,000 bond, jail records show. He also has an outstanding warrant out of Gwinnett County for contempt of court, the report said.
In other news:
About the Author
