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Tot Found In Hot Car; Mom Arrested

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By LISA A. DAVIS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 16, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - By the time anyone noticed the toddler in the car Monday afternoon, he was soaked with sweat and appeared to have passed out, according to a city police report.

When an officer got inside the car, the boy was hot to the touch and unresponsive. Police called for paramedics, who determined the 18-month-old was suffering from dehydration and possibly heat exhaustion. The child was given orange juice and didn't require medical treatment, Lt. Scott Baker said.

Moments after the toddler was discovered, his mother was found nearby talking to a man, a report states, and appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

When an officer told the woman the baby needed assistance, she reportedly asked, "Why? I've only been away from the car for a little while."

The officer tried to handcuff Jo Ann Paula Esposito, 30, but she pulled away, according to the report. After a brief struggle, he succeeded.

Esposito initially gave police a false name, the report states. Police reported finding syringes in the driver's side door of her Volvo. She told police, according to the report, that she used the syringes to inject oxycodone, a painkiller, and that she was addicted.

Esposito, of 9324 Creedmore Lane, was being held at Land O' Lakes Jail on Tuesday on charges of child abuse, resisting arrest without violence, obstructing police by providing false information and possession of drug paraphernalia. On those charges, bail was set at $5,650.

A bail bond company pulled her bail from two previous charges of possession of a controlled substance. She was being held on an additional $10,000 bail on those charges, according to jail records.

The toddler was placed in his father's care, police said.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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