HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A man who was arrested after his son was found buried in his Hallandale Beach backyard pleaded no contest Wednesday to three felony counts of giving false information to a law enforcement officer.
A Broward County judge rejected a motion to change the charges to misdemeanors.
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Meanwhile, two child neglect charges were dropped against Calvin Melvin Jr.
Melvin and Brittany Sierra were arrested in January 2013 after it was discovered that their son, Dontrell Melvin, had been missing since 2011.
Police later found Dontrell's body in the back of the couple's home.
Police reports indicate the body had blunt trauma to the skull caused by police during the recovery. The medical examiner's office determined the bones were too damaged to determine a cause of death, but said Dontrell's death was due to "violence by undetermined means."
Child neglect charges were dropped against Sierra in April. According to a closeout memo, Sierra and Melvin had discussed placing the baby up for adoption. Sierra told detectives that Melvin took it upon himself to give the baby to his parents without her consent. She said his parents didn't like her and she believed they were keeping her son away from her.
Detectives made contact with the parents, who said they hadn't seen Dontrell since he was two months old. Dontrell would have been 18 months old at the time his body was found.
According to the memo, law enforcement did not intervene after Sierra's numerous phone calls to police, because they believed it was "strictly a civil matter."
Neither parent was ever charged with murder due to a lack of evidence in the case.
Melvin faces 15 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 18.
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