ST. PAUL
A South St. Paul, Minn., father will serve 180 days in jail for leaving his 4-year-old son in a minivan while at the movies, a judge ordered Monday.
Dominick Damond Miller, 32, pleaded guilty in Dakota County District Court to one count of gross misdemeanor neglect of a child, according to court records.
Judge Timothy McManus also ordered Miller to serve two years' probation with several conditions, including no contact with his son and no unsupervised contact with children. Miller will receive 25 days credit for time served in jail.
"I'm pleased to see that Mr. Miller took responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty today," Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said after Monday's ruling. He added that Miller's behavior was "very disturbing." "Fortunately, it didn't result in any serious injuries to his child."
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Miller was not charged with a felony because the child did not suffer serious injuries, Backstrom said earlier. If Miller successfully completes probation, the charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor.
On the evening of Oct. 1, an employee at an Inver Grove Heights theater spotted the child in a van that was parked in a fire lane in front of the theater, the complaint said.
The child told police his dad said to stay in the car while he went in to watch a movie, the complaint said. The boy said his father's name was Dominick but that he didn't know his or his parents' last name, phone number or address.
While police were investigating,
officers found a man, later identified as Miller, trying to steal a minivan in the parking lot. Miller had urinated in his pants, police reported.
Police reported Miller smelled strongly of alcohol. He told police his wife had dropped him and his son off at the theater to watch a movie. Miller is not married.
Police put the child in the care of his mother, who lives in St. Paul. She told police she did not know Miller was taking the boy to the movies. The parents are not in a relationship.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
