Mass. man accused of trying to swap baby for beers

[May 18, 2010]  CHICOPEE, Mass. (AP) -- Authorities say a Massachusetts man offered to give his 3-month-old daughter to a maintenance man outside a gas station convenience store in exchange for a pair of 40-ounce beers.

Chicopee police say 24-year-old Matthew Brace of Northampton made the offer on Monday. The maintenance man called police, who found Brace hiding with the girl behind a trash container.

State child welfare officials took the baby into custody.

Police say Brace was not arrested but will be summoned to court to face a charge of reckless endangerment of a child. A phone number for him could not immediately be found.

The child's mother was in the store at the time buying cigarettes. She has not been charged.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.