LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas police have released the arrest report for the father who was arrested after his child died after being locked in a car on Monday.
According to the report, the police felt that Sidney Deal was more concerned about his new car than his daughter.
The incident happened Monday afternoon on H Street near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Owens Avenue.
ORIGINAL STORY: Child dead after being locked in car in Las Vegas
During an interview with police, Deal told them that he accidentally locked his daughter in his car after an argument with his girlfriend.
He also told them that he believed the air conditioner was on and that the little girl was initially walking back and forth in the car because he forgot to buckle her into her car seat. Eventually, the little girl laid down on the floor and he believed that she was asleep.
Police also spoke to Sidney’s longtime girlfriend and mother of two of his children. She told police that the couple had argued earlier and she told him to leave. She said he left with the child, Sayah, but returned a few minutes later and began knocking on the door.
Sidney’s girlfriend said she agreed to call his insurance company and was on the phone with them for 23 minutes according to her call log. They told her that Sidney did not have roadside assistance and he would have to pay for a locksmith. Sidney reportedly told her to hang up and call his brother.
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Sidney Deal’s brother, Samid, told police that he received a call from his brother who told him that he “accidentally locked” his daughter Sayah in his car but the air conditioner was on and he needed his brother to call his mother so that she could call her insurance.
Deal’s brother said that he was confused by the phone call and immediately started to get ready to drive to his brother’s house.
The brother said that when he arrived, his brother Sidney told him that his daughter was OK and he just needed his brother to call their mother.
Samid said that he immediately took off his shirt and wrapped it around his knuckles and was ready to punch the window but his brother stopped him. Samid said his brother did not want to damage his new vehicle because he did not have the money to repair a broken window.
Sidney Deal apparently then saw a police car in the neighborhood and flagged it down. Deal reportedly said he was waiting for a tow truck to arrive.
After waiting for several minutes, an officer decided to break out the back window.
The child was unconscious upon removal and the patrol officers began CPR.
Deal was arrested because police felt that Deal was aware that his daughter was in the car for an extended period of time and did not show enough concern to forcefully enter the vehicle and also refused to allow his brother and the officer on the scene to break a window.
Deal was booked on one charge of child neglect resulting in substantial bodily harm. According to court records, he has been granted bail in the amount of $20,000. The bail has been paid but he has yet to be released from Clark County Detention Center as of Thursday morning.
