Father Accused of Leaving Infant in Pickup for Hours

Patrick Neal Porter said he did not see the harm in leaving his infant son in his pickup truck for about 2 1/2 hours in Newport Beach while he went to the beach, police said Tuesday.

When officers responded to a complaint about the infant Friday about 3:20 p.m., they found the 7 1/2-month-old baby strapped in his infant seat, the windows all rolled down and the keys in the ignition, Newport Beach police spokesman Robert Oakley said.

The temperature inside the truck was about 75 degrees, he said, adding that the infant had thrown up but was otherwise unharmed.

“Anybody could have taken the car with the baby in there. He was lucky nothing happened,� Oakley said.

While police were searching the truck for the name of the owner, they also found less than an ounce of marijuana and a pipe in a pouch on the driver’s door, Oakley said.

Porter, 34, of Westminster returned to the truck at 49th Street and Neptune Avenue while the officers were still there. He told them that he had left James Patrick Porter at about 1 p.m. while he went to the beach about two blocks away, Oakley said.

Porter, an electrician who has been on disability for a bad back, said he was just taking his son out for the day, Oakley said.

“The father said he smoked a little marijuana before leaving to go to the beach,� he said.

Porter was arrested and taken to Newport Beach Jail on suspicion of willful cruelty to a child. The child was placed in protective custody until his mother, Martha Porter, was called to pick up her son.

Martha Porter, 33, could not be reached for comment.

On Tuesday, Porter was released on his own recognizance and ordered to appear in Harbor Municipal Court on Aug. 2 to face charges.

His attorney, Andrew R. Gale, said Porter had never before left his child in a car alone.

“I guess it could just boil down to being a big mistake,� Gale said. “I think it’s just a mistake made by a parent, but it was certainly nothing intentional.�