FATHER BEGS COPS TO KEEP HIS POT-SMOKING, CARJACKING SON LOCKED UP, BUT IS THREATTENED WITH BEING CHARGED FOR CHILD NEGLEGENCE

Baltimore dad begs authorities to keep teen son behind bars  

Santiago Garcia-Diaz  says authorities threatened to charge him with neglect after he pleaded with them to keep his 14-year-old son behind bars for a rash of crimes.

 

By Yaron Steinbuch

 

 

New York Post 

October 31, 2022

 

                 Santiago Garcia-Diaz says his 14-year-old son Bryce is constantly smoking marijuana and stealing cars

 

A desperate Baltimore dad is so afraid his 14-year-old son’s life of crime will get him killed that he begged authorities to keep him locked up — but says they threatened to charge him with neglect instead.

“He’s not going to be alive, that’s what I’m afraid of,” Santiago, who asked that his last name not be used, told FOX45 News about his wayward teen.

“It’s progressively getting worse,” he told the news outlet.

“He started breaking into cars to steal cigarettes and chains, then you’re stealing cars and running from the police,” the distressed dad added.

He said his boy, who wasn’t identified, has been arrested along with a cohort multiple times for a crime spree involving carjackings and thefts from Baltimore to Washington, DC.

“They was flying down Route 4 going 100 miles an hour in and out of traffic,” Santiago said, adding that his son almost took the lives of two cops who were chasing him.

 

                 The worried father spoke with a local news outlet in Baltimore to share his concerns over the inaction from law enforcement when it comes to his son's out of control behavior

 

Despite the rash of crimes, his son has never faced serious consequences for his actions, Santiago said as he shared charging documents with the news outlet.

Of the 19 charges the teen was slapped with, all but one — which carries only probation — have been dropped, he said.

But when the desperate dad pleaded for his son to remain behind bars, he said he was threatened with jail himself.

“I got the call from Prince Frederick County and Calvert County telling me that they had him in custody and they told me what had happened and stuff, and I said, ‘You know what, let him stay there in custody,’ and they told me, ‘You got six hours to get here and get him or we will be coming to get you for neglect and abandonment issues,’” he told FOX45.

“I want my son to get some help, I mean, if it’s jail that what’s it’s gonna take, then jail. What my son needs, he needs some mental help,” Santiago added.

 

                Baltimore has become a hot-spot for crime in recent years. 14-year-old Bryce has had several run-ins with the law in Baltimore, pictured above, and also in Washington, D.C.

                  Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, in 2021 said that 'the era of "tough on crime" is over'

 

Santiago has also set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to cover the heavy financial toll of restitution costs from his son’s crimes.

The Post has reached out to local prosecutors about Santiago’s pleas and the charges against his son.