Man charged in connection with leaving daughter in bakery

WESLACO — A man accused of leaving his infant daughter inside a bakery has been charged with abandonment and endangerment of a child.

Weslaco resident Robert Lopez, 43, was arraigned in the city's municipal court Thursday morning on that charge, as well as a charge of public intoxication other than alcohol in connection with the incident. His bond was set at $2,000 and he was transferred to Hidalgo County jail, said David Molina, spokesman for the Weslaco Police Department.

Lopez was arrested Wednesday after employees of Marines Bakery & Cake Shoppe called police to report that the 4-month-old infant was left behind.

According to police and employees at the bakery, Lopez entered the business with his 4-month-old daughter. He placed the child in a car seat, but forgot to pick her back up after he made his purchase and left the shop, located at 201 S. Texas Blvd.

Employees at the bakery said they looked for the man outside the building and called police when they realized he had left without his child. The child’s father returned to the bakery as emergency responders and police showed up in response to the 9-1-1 call.

Police noticed the man was “intoxicated on something other than alcohol” and arrested him on suspicion of public intoxication, Weslaco Police Chief Jose Perez said Wednesday. Authorities also said the man had drug paraphernalia with him during the incident.

Police called the state's Child Protective Services division to determine with whom the child should be given into custody, because they said the said both mother and father have a history of drug arrests.

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Monitor reporter Ana Ley contributed to this report.