MIAMI — A man, who is currently homeless, spoke to Local 10 News Friday, after he notified Miami police Wednesday night that he had found a 6-year-old boy wandering the streets of Allapattah alone.
According to police, the boy, who was initially believed to be named Lucas or Legacy, was found at about 11 p.m. Wednesday by the man, wandering around the area of Northwest Seventh Avenue and 17th Street.
“God sent me there. I had to do what God say to do,” Arnett Johnson said.
Johnson has been sleeping on a bench in the area for six months after serving time in prison.
He told Local 10 that you see a lot of things go down in the area, but don’t often see a child by themselves.
“I’m looking around for a parent, but I looked and I don’t see nobody. You know what I’m saying? So I’m like, what is this kid doing out here outside at this time of night?” Johnson said.
Johnson said he immediately knew something was wrong, so he called police and stayed with the young boy until authorities arrived.
“This was a good Samaritan that was sleeping in the streets, and he called us and gave us that information. You know, kudos to him. We don’t know what would have happened if he would have remained on the streets,” Miami police Officer Mike Vega said.
Investigators say the child told them, “Mommy drop me off and left me.”
Police said the boy has delayed speech, which made it difficult for them to get information from him.
However, an officer from Miami-Dade Schools Police called the Miami Police Department shortly after 10:34 a.m. Thursday and was able to identify the boy after seeing the “need to identify” flyer.
According to the report, police were then able to make contact with a witness who told them she has known the mother, Annie Rivera, 30, for a few years and Rivera and the boy recently moved in with her and her children.
Police said she went to bed at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and noticed that Rivera and her son were not home.
She said she heard the front door open in the middle of the night and assumed it was Rivera so she went back to sleep, authorities said.
Police said the witness woke up at about 6 a.m. Thursday to get her kids and herself ready for the day when they went downstairs and saw Rivera sleeping.
According to the report, one of the witness’ children asked where the boy was and the witness said she didn’t know and assumed he was at his godmother’s home.
Police said Rivera was found at about 11:40 a.m. Thursday and was taken into custody.
Rivera claimed to have had no idea that her son was gone, police said.
The full statement she made to detectives was redacted from the publicly released report.
Rivera is facing a charge of child neglect without bodily harm.
The boy, whose name has not been publicly released, is now in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
“It’s dangerous everyday out here, right here,” Johnson said. “Especially, we got homeless people all together, and you’ve got fixed minds -- it’s dangerous.”
Rivera cried in front of a Miami-Dade County judge in bond court Friday, where she was ordered held on a $2,500 bond, which she has since posted.
It’s a story that could have gone much worse, but didn’t -- all because of an unlikely guardian angel.
“Probably anyone would have done the same thing I did, you know?” Johnson said.
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