FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A man accused of stealing a car on Sunday that had a 3-year-old boy inside appeared in court on Monday, when he was ordered held in jail without bond.
William Rogers, 27, faces charges of grand theft auto, dealing in stolen property, child neglect and kidnapping.
Local 10 News was at the scene when Broward County deputies found the toddler, Lee Parish, Sunday morning at a Fort Lauderdale home, where authorities said Rogers had dropped him off.
"It is clear that from the probable cause affidavit that Mr. Rogers took this motor vehicle knowing that there was a child sleeping the back seat," the judge said in court.
Deputies issued an Amber Alert for Lee early Sunday. He had been riding in the car with his mother's boyfriend and Rogers.
Deputies said the mother's boyfriend pulled into a Valero gas station on West Sunrise Boulevard, and Rogers took off with the car and the child when the man got of the vehicle to pump gas.
Deputies said Rogers tried to run away but was arrested later that morning.
Prosecutors asked the judge Monday to set higher bond amounts for Rogers, because he was arrested just 48 hours after bailing out of jail on unrelated charges.
The judge granted a $50,000 bond each for the grand theft and dealing in stolen property charges, and a $25,000 bond for child neglect. Rogers is being held without bond for the kidnapping charge.
The Broward Sheriff's Office's Child Protective Investigation Section is investigating the incident. Lee is now back with his mother.