Overview

• Deputies responded to a tip around 10 p.m. on July 18 and found an unlocked vehicle running with an improperly secured infant asleep in the back seat.
• Clarisse Finnegan, 28, and her husband Norman Finnegan Jr., 60, faced third-degree felony neglect charges after giving conflicting accounts of their actions.
• Video footage and witness statements contradicted the couple’s claim that Clarisse briefly checked on the baby before returning to the bar.
• Sheriff Rick Staly called their behavior reckless and thanked the concerned citizen whose tip led deputies to the child’s rescue.
• Norman was released on a $2,500 bond and Clarisse on her own recognizance while the Florida Department of Children and Families investigates.