Iranique Nyesha Martin, 38, faces a child neglect charge after allegedly leaving her approximately 3-year-old daughter alone in a running car outside a Sweetwater gym while she worked out for about an hour. A witness who had seen the child unattended the previous day alerted police on Saturday. The toddler was unharmed but unrestrained without a car seat.
Police in Sweetwater, Florida, arrested Iranique Nyesha Martin on Saturday after a man reported seeing her young daughter alone in the backseat of a running car outside Crunch Fitness in the Miami area. The witness told officers he had noticed the same girl unattended in the vehicle the day before, prompting him to act this time, according to the probable cause arrest affidavit from Miami-Dade police. Officers located the vehicle and soon after, Martin emerged from the gym, confirming the child was hers. She told police she had only gone inside to use the restroom, suggesting a brief absence. However, gym surveillance footage showed Martin inside for roughly an hour, where she exercised and showered, the affidavit stated. Officers noted the girl was unharmed but unrestrained, with no car seat in the car. 'Due to the child's age and inability to care for itself, this exposed the child to an unreasonable risk of harm and constitutes child neglect,' police wrote in the affidavit. Martin was booked into Miami-Dade jail on a $20,000 bond. The child was released to her father's custody. Her next court appearance is scheduled for May 19.