MIAMI – A shelter hearing was held Wednesday morning in Miami for two young brothers whose parents were found unconscious Tuesday morning in their family car.
The boys' father, Carlos Roboyras-Rodrigues, 35, was arrested on charges of DUI and child neglect. Their mother, Catherine Lobb, 26, was also arrested on charges of child neglect and allowing an unauthorized person to drive her vehicle because Roboyras-Rodrigues' license was suspended.
According to authorities, Roboyras-Rodrigues was dazed and confused when paramedics banged on the window to wake him up inside his blue Hyundai Sonata that was stopped in the area of Northwest Seventh Avenue and 77th Street.
They said he believed he was stopped at a light, although the light was two blocks away.
Police said Lobb was slumped over the console.
The couple's pupils were both constricted, police said.
"I looked into his eyes (and) his pupils were constricted. You had to look hard to actually find them," an officer who was at the scene during the incident said at Wednesday's hearing. "She (Lobb) goes, 'Why are you here?' I said, 'We were here for you. You were out.' And she said, 'Oh, I fell asleep.' I said, 'No, you don't just fall asleep." Also, her pupils were constricted as well."
Employees with the Florida Department of Children and Families said Lobb declined to take a drug test for them, although both parents took a drug test when they were booked into jail.
The couple's children, a 2-year-old boy and 2-month-old boy, were both in the backseat of the car when paramedics arrived.
Police said the older brother had a sagging diaper and dirty shirt.
Both children were turned over to DCF and are now in the care of Roboyras-Rodrigues' sister.
Investigators said they believe the children are now in good hands. The suspect's sister told Local 10 News reporter Ian Margol that she is pregnant with her first child, but is happy to be granted custody of her nephews.
A no-contact order was granted against the parents. They will appear in family court Thursday when a judge might allow them to visit their children two times per week.
The 2-year-old boy will also undergo mental health services within 14 days, as the court determined that he was extremely fearful.
Lobb appeared in court Wednesday afternoon, where she was ordered to be held in lieu of a $5,000 bond.
"I have a 2-month-old baby and he was going to drive and let me rest while I take him to work," Lobb told the judge.
Roboyras-Rodrigues also appeared in court, where he was also ordered to be held in lieu of a $5,000 bond for the child neglect charge.