DENVER — A judge has ordered parents to stay away from their 1-month-old boy after the child was found in a median near an Adams County gas station on Christmas Day.
The Adams County Sheriff's Office said a Good Samaritan called 911 around 9:20 a.m. after finding the baby in the area of 7490 Pecos Street.
The boy was found in a car seat/ carrier wearing only a diaper, according to ACSO.
Deputies located his biological parents — Jarvis Sims, 42, and Christina Thurman, 33 — and arrested them for felony child abuse. Both are being held in the Adams County Detention Facility on $50,000 bonds.
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Parents arrested after 1-month-old boy left in Pecos St. median on Christmas Day
The sheriff's office told Denver7 that deputies arrived at the scene Christmas Day to find the baby with the Good Samaritan.
"No child should be put in that predicament," said Sergeant Adam Sherman with the Adams County Sheriff's Office. "Especially (a) one-month-old baby, unclothed, who, you know, at that point in their life, they're solely dependent on others around them. And knowing that... a baby was just left in the middle of the street is, is devastating."
The baby was taken to Children's Hospital Colorado in Broomfield, where his urine test came back positive for cocaine, according to court documents. He was placed into the legal custody of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS).
According to court documents obtained by Denver7 Investigates, the witness — a woman — saw a man and woman arguing. The witness told deputies she saw the man leave the baby in the median. She told him to come get the child, to which he replied, "That's her kid. Give it to her," according to the documents.
Investigators identified the man and woman as Sims and Thurman, the boy's biological parents.
The arrest affidavit states the parents had an argument, and Thurman left their apartment. Sims brought the baby outside and "yelled" at Thurman to "come get the baby to which she refused," according to the documents.
The affidavit says Sims set the baby on the sidewalk and "went home because he had to work in the morning." According to the court documents, the baby was with the witness for about an hour before 911 was called.
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Denver7 Investigates learned Sims also faces a domestic violence charge from an incident in March involving Thurman. Sims is accused of hitting Thurman in the face, according to court documents.
A judge granted a mandatory protection order in September in the domestic violence case. Natasha Adler, the director of survivor services with SafeHouse Denver, told Denver7 this is not uncommon.
"Even though those protection orders are automatically put in place to support and help the victim, sometimes it can make their situation worse," said Adler. "So, oftentimes, victims will ask for that protection order to be modified for contact, or sometimes they ignore it completely."
Sgt. Sherman credited the community for helping speed up the investigative process on Christmas Day, acknowledging the traction social media posts rapidly gained.
"Once we put out the social media post... our community exponentially helped provide resources and just, information started coming into our dispatch center so we could follow up," he said.
Sims and Thurman are due back in court on Dec. 30 at 1:30 p.m.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available through Violence Free Colorado or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
