A 38-year-old Michigan mother was handed a 15-year prison sentence after she abandoned her 21-month-old child on the shoreline of Daytona Beach before lying about where she took the minor.
Per The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Shamika Mitchell left her child to his fate before he was eventually rescued by a couple who spotted him. Mitchell’s sentencing on January 30 came after she was found guilty of unlawful desertion of a child and aggravated child abuse. She was additionally sentenced to 15 years of probation.
Besides being sentenced to prison and probation, Circuit Judge Karen Foxman barred Mitchell from establishing contact with minors without supervision as her probation condition. She, however, received credit for serving 449 days.
Foxman also highlighted that while Mitchell was executing her duties as her children’s sole caregiver, she was under the influence of marijuana, alcohol, and another substance suspected to be meth.
The judge also said Mitchell’s child may have ended up being washed out to sea if not for the timely intervention of the couple. She also highlighted that Mitchell on several occasions was not truthful to the police about her child’s whereabouts.
The November 2023 incident happened while Mitchell was on vacation in Daytona Beach. The convicted woman was with her children at the time, and a security guard at the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church allowed her to park her rented minivan in the parking lot to enable the 38-year-old and her children to spend the night, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
But the security guard later saw Mitchell leaving the area with a red blanket in her possession. Security videos that were played during her trial also showed her holding a child as she walked from the convention center.
Different footage also showed Mitchell making her way to the beach and later leaving. But the child was not with her when she left. Mitchell’s children asked her the whereabouts of their brother when she got back to the van, with the security guard also contacting authorities.
Daytona Beach Police ultimately responded to the scene, but Mitchell said she had left her child with her father at a 7-Eleven, adding that it was likely he was returning to Michigan at the time.
Mitchell’s child was nowhere to be found for 40 minutes before the couple spotted him and authorities were contacted.