MacKenzie Elmer

melmer@dmreg.com

A Des Moines man told police that he had fallen asleep in a sweltering car while his 6-month-old son was dying from heat exposure in the back seat, according to a police report.

But detectives aren't buying his story.

Lance Jordan Williams Sr., 35, is in jail on a child-endangerment charge after authorities determined that the baby had been left in the car Saturday afternoon while the outside temperature approached 90 degrees.

Based on interviews with Williams and witnesses, police said they believe Williams parked his 1998 Dodge Caravan outside Barbershop Fresh, 501 Euclid Ave., and went inside the barbershop for an “extended period of time” before the child was found unresponsive.

Williams initially told police a different story, according to the police report. He said he parked behind the business with his son in the back seat and started to play a game on his phone, while the car was turned off.

The high temperature, at 4:54 p.m. Saturday afternoon, was 89 degrees, but it felt like 97 with the heat index, according to police measurements noted in a criminal complaint.

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Williams said he fell asleep in the front seat and woke up at a time that police redacted from the report. When he awoke, Williams said, he got out of the car to use the restroom, “but quickly turned around only a few steps away from the vehicle because he remembered (the child) was in the back seat.”

Williams' son was unresponsive. He called 911 and decided to drive himself to Broadlawns Medical Center, according to the report.

"The investigation has identified inconsistencies in his statements," Sgt. Paul Parizek, a spokesman for the Des Moines Police Department, said Monday. "Detectives believe that he was not sleeping in the car at the time the child died."

Other people were in the barbershop while Williams was there, but police believe nobody knew that the child was outside. The business was closed Monday.

Medical personnel told police that the child appeared dead when they arrived, according to the report. The child likely died from overheating, but the Polk County Medical Examiner has not released autopsy results and an official cause of death.

Marques Brooks, 32, of Iowa City, who said he has known Williams since high school, said his friend was a rising black business owner in Des Moines who loved his family.

Public data from the Iowa Board of Barbering show Williams received his barber license May 17. Brooks, who owns a video production company called Divine Vision Productions, surprised Williams with a promotional video for his barbershop a week ago.

“He’s a great guy. He’s naturally a kind-hearted person. He loves kids, and he has a big family,” Brooks said. “He’s just trying to make his mark in Iowa as a black businessman. It’s a little difficult to do out here.”

Williams has a criminal record. He was found guilty of assault while participating in a felony and third-degree burglary in 2000, for which he served 172 days in prison.

In 2006, he pleaded guilty to second-degree theft and a probation violation. In 2006 and 2007, Williams pleaded guilty to controlled substance violations and violation of his probation.

In March 2015, he was arrested on assault and disorderly conduct charges after the store manager at McDonald's on East Euclid Avenue called police, fearing that employees would be physically assaulted by Williams, who had reportedly become "verbally abusive and loud" toward restaurant staff and said McDonald's "was a racist restaurant because the Happy Meal toys did not have dark skin," according to a police report.

Court records online show that Williams pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge in that case and the assault charge was dismissed.

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But Brooks said his friend had put that part of his life behind him and had focused his energy toward the barbershop.

“I think the things he has been doing for the last five to seven years hasn’t really showed any negativity,” Brooks said.

Williams' plan was to encourage children to read aloud during their haircuts, with books from his barbershop, promoting their education, Brooks said.

“As far as what occurred, I don’t know what to say. I just think that we have to be more careful as a parent. It’s very unfortunate,” Brooks said.

Williams is being held in the Polk County Jail on $25,000 bond. His next court appearance has been set for June 22.