Alachua man charged with child neglect

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Trevor Maurice Wooden Jr., 35, was arrested early this morning for allegedly failing to secure a three-year-old child in his vehicle while intoxicated.

The responding Gainesville Police Department officer reported that at about 2 a.m. on June 26, Wooden drove to Gumby’s (2028 SW 34th Street) and spoke to an employee in the parking lot. That employee and a security guard both told the officer that Wooden showed clear signs of impairment, such as red eyes, stumbling, and slurring his words. These witnesses reportedly said there was no child seat in Wooden’s vehicle, and he took the child out of the back seat and placed the child in the front seat with no seatbelt before driving to the Hilton UF Hotel (1714 SW 34th Street) with a third witness.

The officer reported that while he was interviewing Wooden at the hotel, he told him he was not free to leave, but Wooden tried to close the door several times and also tried to pick up the child and walk away. The officer noted that Wooden “was obviously too drunk to care for the child.”

Post Miranda, Wooden reportedly said he’d been in the hotel with the child the entire time and had never left. However, he later changed his story and reportedly said he’d had 2 ounces of tequila before driving to Gumby’s with the child and the third witness. He said he never went inside Gumby’s but just talked to the first witness in the parking lot. He was unable to say who had driven back to the hotel.

The third witness reportedly said Wooden drove her and the child to Gumby’s, where she went inside and saw Wooden talking to the first witness in the parking lot. She said she had shots of alcohol and purchased pizza before getting back into the vehicle. She reportedly said Wooden did not drive back to the hotel, but she was unable to say who had driven the vehicle.

The child reportedly said Wooden had been driving and that he had placed her in the seat.

A fourth witness who was on the phone with the third witness reportedly told the officer that she had seen Wooden drive under the influence with the child in his vehicle.

The officer reported that Wooden has two previous DUI convictions and has a suspended license.

Wooden has been charged with child neglect without causing great bodily harm and resisting an officer without violence. Judge Joy Danne ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.