Father who left infant alone is placed on probation
By Times Staff Writer
Published May 13, 2004
LARGO - A man who left his 7-month-old baby at home alone last year while he went to a bar has been sentenced to probation, while his wife has entered a pretrial intervention program for the same charge. Donald Haas, 34, and Gretchen Haas, 29, were arrested in December on child neglect charges.
Police said the couple were at Sportscasters Bar & Grill, 2655 East Bay Drive, and were heard arguing about a child left at home alone. A man at the bar took them home, police said. Ten minutes later, the couple were back in the bar. The man then called police, who arrested the parents.
The baby, who had been home alone for about two hours, was placed with a grandfather, police said. Donald Haas pleaded guilty last month to the charge and was sentenced to 18 months of probation. He cannot visit his child unless a social worker is present. Gretchen Haas entered a pretrial intervention program in which, if she meets certain requirements, the charge could be dropped.
