Update: Cousin defends woman as good mother



An apparently intoxicated woman left her 8-month-old baby on the floor of a filthy car while she was partying with a friend early this morning, Jersey City police said.

Update/photos: Woman accused of leaving baby in car appears in court.



Sharia Pettiford, 32, of Kensington Avenue, who told cops she couldn't remember where she left her baby, was charged under the child neglect statute at 1 a.m. this morning on Waldo Avenue near Alan Terrace, reports said.

She was with Kevin D. Jackson, 34, of Old Bergen Road, at the time and he was arrested on drug possession charges after police found a "blunt" and three bags of suspected marijuana in a pack of cigarettes he was carrying, reports said.

Police responding to a report of a baby alone in a car spotted Pettiford and Jackson, who immediately tried to walk away in opposite directions, reports said. Jackson was attempting to discard the pack of cigarettes and was arrested when police looked inside, reports said.

About 100 yards away, police found the baby lying in debris on the floor of backseat of the car, which was parked on Waldo Avenue, police said. A chicken sandwich was found smashed into a car seat that had fallen on its side, reports said, noting that the car seat was not secured properly.

Pettiford told police she and Jackson were drinking and had driven to Waldo Avenue to visit a friend, reports said, adding that she had her baby with her at the time but that she couldn't remember where he was.

Police found the boy in the car and called for an ambulance immediately. Pettiford was then charged with abandoning the baby and taken into custody, reports said. Police reports did not say how long the baby had been left in the car.

The baby was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center where he was found to be in good health, reports said. A case worker for the state Division of Youth and Family Services responded to the hospital and took custody of the child, reports said.

When police processed Jackson and Pettiford they found each had open warrants for their arrest out of Jersey City, reports said.

Jackson and Pettiford are expected to appear in Central Judicial Processing this afternoon.

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