A newborn baby was found alive in a trash can near a Quality Inn in Savannah, Georgia, on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 10, according to reports from Breitbart News and The Western Journal. Both outlets say three adults have since been arrested. Two are charged with cruelty to children. The third faces counts of party to a crime and obstruction of police.
Both national reports are aggregations of local television coverage, and neither links a police release or arrest warrants. That leaves a great many questions open, from how the three accused are connected to one another to how the baby ended up in the bin. The details below come from those two reports and have not been checked against police records.
The baby is now in the care of the Georgia Department of Human Services' Division of Family and Children Services, both outlets reported.
A Call About a Bleeding Patient
According to Breitbart News, Chatham EMS Director Chuck Kearns said crews were first called to a hospital for a patient who was hemorrhaging after giving birth, with no child with her. The Western Journal describes the first response somewhat differently, saying responders were called for a hemorrhaging patient and then realized she had given birth. The two outlets do not agree on where that first call came from, and the point is unsettled.
Breitbart reported that Savannah police responded to a hotel on Abercorn Street at about 2:45 a.m. It named Sgt. Howard Crosby and Officer Richard Taylor of the Southside Precinct as the officers who found the infant in a nearby trash can. The outlet attributed that account to WTOC, the local station, whose report this site has not read. The baby was taken to a hospital. Neither report says whether the child was found before or after the mother reached the hospital.
Who Is Charged, and With What
Both outlets report that three people were arrested. Dominique Welcome, 29, is charged with cruelty to children. Jamal West, 44, is also charged with cruelty to children. Chiquita Roche, 39, is charged with party to a crime and with willful obstruction of law enforcement officers by use of threats or violence. The Western Journal attributes the names to WYFF. No police release or booking record confirming the names or charges has been reviewed for this story.
These are charges, not convictions, and all three are presumed innocent. Neither report explains how the three are related to each other or to the baby's mother, whether the mother is among those arrested, or what threats or violence Roche is accused of using. No bond amounts or court dates have been reported, and nothing has been said publicly about the child's sex or current condition.
The Western Journal quoted Savannah Police Chief Lenny Gunther as saying he was "proud of the diligent work of our Southside Precinct officers." It also quoted him saying, "Remember that there are always options that don't endanger a life." The outlet does not say where or how he made the remarks, and no other report reviewed for this story carries them.
Georgia's Safe Haven Law, and a Discrepancy
The chief's remark appears to refer to Georgia's Safe Haven provisions for surrendering newborns. The two reports disagree on their terms. Breitbart said Georgia permits surrender of infants up to 45 days old at hospitals, fire stations, police stations and Safe Haven Baby Boxes. The Western Journal, citing WYFF, said the state's Safe Place for Newborns Act provides immunity for a baby no more than 30 days old left at a medical facility, fire station or police station. We have not checked either figure against the statute, so the age limit and the scope of any legal protection remain unverified.
Breitbart also linked an August article about the first Safe Haven Baby Box in Georgia, which its headline said was opening soon. The notes available do not include details from that article.
What Happens Next
Neither report says what comes next in court. The sources do not describe first appearances, bond hearings, formal charging decisions, custody proceedings or any additional charges, and nothing in them says where any proceedings would be held. Police records, arrest warrants and court filings, once available, should clarify the role each defendant is alleged to have played.
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