Los Angeles: On Tuesday, May 27, 2003, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Los Angeles Police Department’s Devonshire Area patrol officers responded to a radio call of a child left inside a vehicle in the 15000 block of Parthenia Street in North Hills.

Arriving at the location, the officers were met by witnesses who were standing in the shade with a young child. The outside temperature was approximately 95 degrees. The officers’ investigation determined that the three year-old child’s father left the boy in a parked vehicle while he was inside a local business. Witnesses came forward and assisted the boy from the vehicle, and the child said that his father was inside a nearby building. As officers began to search the immediate area for the child’s father, 34 year-old Hector Moreno came forward and identified himself as the boy’s father.

Moreno was arrested for 273 a (a) PC, Willful Cruelty to a Child, and was held for $100,000.00 bail. The uninjured child was taken into police custody and released to the Department of Child and Family Services.

As the summer approaches and the temperatures inside a parked vehicle rise to a dangerous level, Los Angeles health officials and the Los Angeles Police Department want to remind child guardians and pet owners about the dangers of locking them in a vehicle during hot weather periods.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Devonshire Detective Desk at 818-756-8291. On weekends and during off-hours, call the 24-hour toll free number at the Detectives Information Desk, 1-877-LAWFULL, 1-877-529-3855.

This press release was prepared by Public Information Officer Jack Richter, Media Relations Section, 213-485-3586.