NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A Yulee mother was sentenced to four months in jail after she was convicted on one count of felony child neglect for leaving her 3-year-old boy in a truck while she had drinks inside a bar, according to court documents.
Malissa Ley, 31, was booked Thursday into the Nassau County Jail, where she will serve her time behind bars.
A friend of the family told News4Jax on Friday that the child is OK now.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by News4Jax, on July 12, Ley left her 3-year-old son in a truck that was left running in a parking lot while she had drinks inside a bar.
Investigators said her boyfriend walked in and confronted her before Ley left the bar and took off toward Fernandina Beach.
The Fernandina Beach Police Department said one of its officers pulled Ley over for reckless driving near South 8th Street, in the same area to which Nassau County deputies were dispatched in reference to a child abuse allegation shortly after.
According to the affidavit, Ley’s boyfriend told deputies he pulled up to the bar and found Ley's son alone in her parked truck while she was in the bar having drinks with another man.
When investigators spoke to Ley, she told them she had been at the bar for a short time. According to a deputy, Ley gave him conflicting answers when asked how many drinks she had at the bar.
Before Ley was taken away, she called her friend Dorothy Marden.
"She called me and said, 'I need you to come get the baby because I'm going to jail.' I'm, like, 'Why are you going to jail?' She wouldn't tell me. She just told me where she was at," Marden said. "As I pull up, I see her, and two or three cop cars and a detective."
Marden took the child and eventually got hold of the child's father, who is now caring for the boy. Marden said the incident left her shocked and confused.
"I can't even imagine being left in a car or even leaving a kid in the car," she said. "I couldn't imagine it."
Ley’s attorney, Scott McCarty, told News4Jax it’s unclear if Ley will actually spend the entire four months behind bars.