PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A Phoenix father is in custody after allegedly leaving his kids in a hot car while he shopped at an adult store.
Officers credit a good Samaritan with calling 911 after spotting the four kids baking inside a car for almost an hour.
Ascencio Largo, 38, is accused of leaving his kids alone and in danger to go inside “The Adult Shoppe.” Court records state that employees at the X-rated boutique made several announcements and that nobody came outside to claim the car.
Ultimately, Largo reportedly went out the back door of the shop, where officers asked if the car was his, to which he shook his head “no,” court papers said. Officers then followed him and saw law enforcement and fire trucks near the Nissan, he said “oh s*it.”
During his arrest, he said he was just in the store to “get some supplies,” the document said, but police say Largo also was drunk.
The four children involved are all under the age of 10. Phoenix police say it was 125 degrees inside the car. Officers say the car was off with the windows rolled up.
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“The children were in imminent danger of death in this situation,” said the prosecutor during Largo’s first court appearance.
When first responders arrived on scene, all four children were sweating, hot to the touch, with red skin. They were taken to a nearby hospital and are expected to fully recover. Court papers showed they all had temperatures between 99.7° to 100.4°F, typically in the range of a low-grade fever.
The state asked the judge for a $50,000 bond, citing Largo’s previous criminal history, which includes a prior extreme DUI.
“In your case I was actually surprised that the police booked these as a class four felony instead of the higher class of felony,” said the judge. “You could have exited that store to a car full of your dead children which is rather shocking.”
The judge did not hold back while discussing the severity of the allegations.
“The police allege that they went into the store, called out many times, nobody came out and they allege that when you came out you attempted to pretend like it wasn’t your car,” said the judge. “It indicates a strong level of reckless culpability.”
Largo is ordered to stay away from his children if he posts bail, which was set at $5,000. The judge says they are currently under the care of their mother, who was reportedly at work during the situation.
“You are presumed innocent, but what the police are alleging could have resulted in, you know, the kind of story that gets picked up on international news wires. Man goes into porno store leaving his four children to die in their car,” the judge said.
According to the organization Kids and Car Safety, three children died in Arizona last year after being left in a hot car. Thankfully, in this case, the kids are safe.
Largo currently faces eight felony child abuse and endangerment charges.
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