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Police Charge Passed Out Parents With Neglect

Eamonn Kneeshaw / Special To The Tampa Tribune

Mall security found Carlina Elizabeth Davis and Ryan Andrew Davis in this car Saturday night.

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 25, 2007

The 2-year-old child of a drunken Oldsmar couple was inside their running car, hysterically crying and trying to wake them, when a Largo Mall security guard spotted the family in the mall's parking lot Saturday night, Largo police said.

The guard banged on the car's window for 30 to 45 minutes but got no response, Largo police Sgt. Mark Young said. Police, who were called about 9:20 p.m., had to remove the mother from the 1997 Ford Taurus to wake her.

Ryan Davis, 23, and Carlina Davis, 22

"Neither had any memories of the last several hours," Young said. "Neither has any recollection of how they got to Largo Mall. The last thing they remembered was they were drinking on a boat somewhere. The mom thought it was Monday, not Saturday night."

Carlina Elizabeth Davis and Ryan Andrew Davis face one count each of child neglect without great bodily harm.

The couple, which also has a week-old child in a hospital's intensive care unit, remains in the Pinellas County Jail, Young said.

He said it's unclear whether the couple was drinking as a result of that child's condition.

Because Carlina Davis, 22, was behind the wheel when police found her, she also faces a count of driving under the influence. Due to her level of intoxication, she was taken to a nearby hospital for precautionary reasons before being booked into jail Sunday morning, Young said.

When police roused her Saturday, Ryan Davis, 23, began to wake up as well.

"At first he said, 'Come on dude, leave her alone. She's tired,'" Young said. "Then, when he saw it was cops, he started cussing."

Ryan Davis also faces two counts of violating probation.

The couple's child was picked up by a family member, and the vehicle was impounded, police said.

Results are pending on Carlina Davis' blood-alcohol test, Young said. He said the couple also might have been under the influence of a legal prescription medication.

Ryan Davis is being held without bail; his wife's bail is set at $7,000.

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