Palm Coast Couple Face Felony Child Neglect Charges After Leaving Infant in Car While Drinking at a Bar

Norman E. Finnegan Jr., 60, and Clarisse Finnegan, 28, both of Coral Reef Court in Palm Coast, were booked at the Flagler County jail shortly after midnight Saturday, each on a charge of felony child neglect after their infant child was left in the backseat of their car while the couple had drinks at a bar. 

Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the parking lot of Smiles at Palm Harbor Village Way around 10:20 p.m. Friday after 911 got an anonymous call about a child being left in a Volkswagen Passat there. A deputy observed an infant “improperly secured” in a backseat, according to the arrest reports. The car was unlocked, its engine was on, as was the air conditioning. The child was sleeping and unharmed when the deputy opened the car door to check on him. 

A few minutes later, Clarisse walked out of Smiles and approached the deputy. She identified herself and was detained, telling the deputy her husband was still at Smiles. Another deputy fetched Norman from the bar and also detained him as the investigation continued. 

A patron of Smiles who had gone there with others told the deputies she’d gotten there around 10 p.m. and noticed the white Passat with its lights and engine on in the parking lot. Fifteen minutes later she saw an older man step out of the bar, check into the vehicle, then go back in. According to a bartender, Clarisse and Norman had been drinking, but Clarisse had only had “a little bit” to drink. Beyond that, Smiles employees did not wish to provide any further information or assistance with the investigation, the reports state. 

Clarisse told deputies she’d been watching her son at home but went to Smiles to get some money from her husband to buy some necessities at a pharmacy. She decided to use the restroom at the bar and ended up staying longer as she attempted to get Norman to come back home, since she was driving him. He was getting ready to pay the bar tab when she walked outside and saw the deputies, she said. 

Norman, for his part, told deputies he’d gone to Smiles to get a break around 8:30 p.m., and that Clarisse was there no more than a quarter of an hour. He was aware that the child was in the vehicle, but was in a hurry to pay his tab so the child would not be unattended. Sheriff’s deputies noted that from where the couple was sitting, they could not have had eyes on the car. 

The Finnegans were arrested on a charge of child neglect, a third-degree felony. The child was handed over to a co-worker of Norman Finnegan’s. A judge released Clarisse on her own recognizance by 9 that morning, and Norman was released on $2,500 bond. 

Both have faced recent legal difficulties over money, with the court issuing a judgment against Clarisse for $3,700 she owes a friend who’d made her several loans to help her with family obligations in the Philippines, and an ongoing action against Norman over a defaulted beginning two years ago on $7,100 that was left on a $9,225 loan he’d made in April 2022 with Cross River Bank, which charged him 21.3 percent interest.