CHARGED: Police say man blew a .30 after allegedly leaving his three-year-old son in a vehicle alone
RACINE COUNTY (WITI) -- A 29-year-old Racine man was arrested for child neglect after police found his three-year-old son inside a vehicle alone last week.
Timothy Kimbrough faces two felony charges: child abandonment, and first degree recklessly endangering safety.
Court documents show Kimbrough has a criminal history dating back to 2006.
Police on February 27th were called out to the 1400 block of Erie Street to investigate a suspicious vehicle. Police learned the vehicle was registered to Vanessa Kimbrough, and they found a three-year-old child inside alone. The keys were discovered in the vehicle's ignition, but the vehicle wasn't running. It was 13 degrees outside, but it felt like one degree.
Police were unable to locate the child's mother or father. They did observe the child to be dressed for the cold weather. The child was removed from the vehicle and placed in a warm squad car.
Officers talked with neighbors, who reported the vehicle had been in the 1400 block of Erie Street for approximately two hours. Police learned there had been a complaint involving this vehicle earlier in the day. The vehicle was reported to have been driving erratically and "all over the road" on Durand Avenue. A child was reported in the vehicle's backseat.
Police officers arranged for the vehicle to be towed, and for the Human Services Department to respond to the scene because the child's parents couldn't be found. That's when officers were approached by a man claiming the vehicle belonged to his step-daughter, Vanessa. The child, he said, is his grandson.
Shortly thereafter, the child's mother arrived on scene in "near hysterics," reporting that she had been trying to contact the child's father all afternoon. The child's mother told police the child's father, Timothy Kimbrough picked the child up that morning -- saying he "seemed fine" at the time. The child's mother told police the child's father was planning on taking him shopping for shoes.
The child's grandfather returned to the scene and reported that the child's father, Timothy Kimbrough was found to be asleep in a bedroom in the 1500 block of Erie Street. Police spoke with the vehicle's owner, Vanessa, who reported she hadn't given Timothy Kimbrough permission to drive her vehicle -- saying he took it when she was at work. The vehicle was released to Vanessa.
Police made contact with Timothy Kimbrough and in doing so, reported they could smell an odor of intoxicants. He was taken into custody for child neglect.
Kimbrough was taken to jail -- but the jail staff refused to accept him because he blew a .30 on a portable preliminary breath testing device. He was taken to the emergency room for medical clearance, before he was returned to jail and turned over to Racine County Sheriff's officials.