Juan Rodriguez, the 39-year-old father of the 1-year-old twins who died from heatstroke, as a result of being left in a hot car, has been sentenced.
Via video, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless endangerment charges and was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge. For Rodriguez, a conditional discharge means that he will not have to serve any time behind bars, and his misdemeanor charge will be eligible for removal from his record after his one-year sentence is over, as long as he has not committed any other offenses.
In a statement made on Tuesday (June 22), Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said:
“These babies suffered horribly, and we owed them a thorough investigation. I hope that as the sweltering weather is upon us, caregivers will be extra vigilant about children in vehicles.”
According to the press release, on the morning of July 26, 2019, Rodriguez drove to his job, James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, while his twins, Luna and Phoenix Rodriguez, were in the back seat.
While Rodriguez went inside, the twins were left in the car by themselves for nearly 8 hours. Their body temperatures reached 108 degrees Fahrenheit.
When first responders arrived at Rodriguez’s job, the twins were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the criminal complaint, when the police questioned Rodriguez, he told them that he thought that he had taken his kids to daycare before coming to work.
“I assumed I dropped them off at daycare before I went to work,” he said. “I blanked out. My babies are dead. I killed my babies.”
His attorney, Joey Jackson, mentioned that as sad as it is, tragedies like that happen all over the country.
In a statement given to CNN, Rodriguez’s wife added that she knows that her husband is a great father and that he would have never intentionally hurt their children. She believes that he will never recover from this tragic incident.
“Though I am hurting more than I ever imagined possible, I still love my husband,” she said. He is a good person and great father, and I know he would’ve never done anything to hurt our children intentionally.”
She continued: “I will never get over this loss, and I know he will never forgive himself for this mistake.”
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