Posted on 02/06/2018 11:44:53 AM PST by nickcarraway
Boy found wandering outside Bunnell sports bar
Robert and Kristal Valenti spent several hours inside a Bunnell sports bar Sunday night drinking and watching the Super Bowl while their 6-year-old son wandered around outside unattended and unsupervised, police reports state.
Flagler County sheriff’s deputies arrested Robert, 42, and Kristal Valenti, 38, and charged both of them with child neglect. They remained jailed Monday afternoon on $2,500 bail apiece.
According to a Sheriff’s Office report, some patrons at Beer House, 616 N. State Street, grew concerned for the couple’s elementary-aged boy when they noticed him running around near the front entrance outside the bar. One of those patrons called 9-1-1 about 10:20 p.m. Sunday after learning the child had been left outside alone for about two hours, the report stated.
Bunnell police arrived and found the boy wandering in front of the bar. Kristal Valenti came out moments later and escorted the boy back to a Ford truck parked on the north side of the bar.
When officers questioned her she was initially uncooperative, but later said she and a friend met her husband, Robert, at the bar to watch the Super Bowl, which she described in the report as a “very big event.” She told officers she really wanted the Philadelphia Eagles to win and at one point tried to cheerfully “fist bump” one of the deputies as she talked about the team.
Kristal Valenti claimed the Beer House does not allow underage patrons inside after 6 p.m., so she and her husband decided to leave their son in their truck with a cell phone so he could access the bar’s WiFi network and watch YouTube videos.
One bartender told officers a friend of the couple’s stayed outside with the child initially, but he left after arguing with Robert Valenti. That’s when the couple left their son in Robert Valenti’s truck.
Kristal said she came out periodically to check on the boy throughout the game. But officers determined there were still large gaps of time when he was not being supervised. Deputies arrested the couple and notified the Department of Children and Families.
I think my parents could have been arrested any number of times when I was growing up.
A family I was in Indian Guides owned a local eatery/bar and from 7-12 I was frequently in the bar while my parents were enjoying dinner. One of my 6th grade teachers was also a part time bartender as well 2 nights a week and we socialized as she worked.
Now, tell me how that would go over on Facebook circa 2018 vs 1978.
My BFF grew up in a Bowling Alley that her family owned. She turned out just fine, too! :)
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