Child Left Alone In Vehicle, Father Arrested: Middletown Police

MIDDLETOWN, CT — A man was recently arrested after police said he left his young daughter alone in a vehicle while he was shopping at Stop & Shop in Middletown.

Michael Trowbridge, 52, was charged with risk of injury to a child and possession of a controlled substance/narcotics. Police said they found him with a substance believed to be heroin. He was released after posting a $5,000 bond, according to judicial records.

Police responded to Stop & Shop at 416 East Main St. around 4 p.m. on Dec. 19 for a report of a child left unattended in a rented sport utility vehicle with a Florida registration. A woman told police she was heading to her vehicle when she saw a sleeping child in a car seat in the front passenger side of the SUV with the window rolled down and no heat.

Police said the car seat was improperly installed in the front seat of the vehicle.

The vehicle was in the rear of the parking lot away from the store’s front entrance. It was around 32 degrees outside and the child was determined to be wearing appropriate clothing, according to a police report.

Police waited by the vehicle for about 10 minutes then went inside the store and encountered Trowbridge. He told officers he didn’t want to wake up his daughter, so he left her in the vehicle while he went shopping, police said.

Police said Trowbridge showed “very little emotion” as they explained to him the severity of leaving a child unattended. He also said police were “making a big deal about it,” according to the report.

Ambulance personnel determined had cold hands and feet but was otherwise in good health, according to police. The child was released to the custody of a relative of Trowbridge's, police said.

Trowbridge was arrested and taken to police headquarters, where police said they found he had 18 wax folds of a substance presumed to be heroin. The folds were stamped "Dunkin Donuts" and "Moillis," police said.

Trowbridge is due in court May 17.