District Attorney files felony child endangerment charges against intoxicated father

By Tamara Barak, Bay City News

March 7, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - A San Francisco man will appear in court Wednesday morning to face charges he left his 1-month old son in a rain puddle on Sunday.

The San Francisco District Attorney's office today filed two felony counts of child endangerment against 21-year-old Johnni Perez.

He also faces one felony count of false imprisonment and one misdemeanor count of giving false information.

"Each count of child endangerment carries a maximum of six years in state prison," said Bilen Mesfin, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.

Perez was arrested around 8 p.m. Sunday after police found his son lying underneath a van parked on Fifth Avenue near Geary Boulevard in the city's Richmond District.

Police say an intoxicated Perez and his son's 22-year-old mother argued over Perez's drinking. After Perez took the boy on a walk against her wishes, the young woman called Perez's father for help, and Perez's father then called police.

Responding officers took Perez into custody and found his baby nearby. The infant was cold and wet but uninjured, police say.

Perez's arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. in San Francisco Superior Court.

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