L.A. man charged with leaving baby outside on Christmas

[December 30, 2014]  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A man accused of leaving his six-month-old daughter in the cold outside his Los Angeles home at 2 a.m. on Christmas Day and then passing out drunk has been charged with child endangerment, prosecutors said on Monday.

Jose Chavarria, 29, was also charged with resisting arrest after struggling with police who found him asleep on a couch inside the home, Los Angeles City Attorney's spokesman Frank Mateljan said in a written statement.

Mateljan said neighbors called police after hearing the baby crying shortly after 2 a.m. on Christmas day, when temperatures had dipped below 50 degrees.

Chavarria, who was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and expected to make an initial court appearance later on Monday, faces up to two years in jail and $2,000 in fines if he is convicted.

His infant daughter was placed in the custody of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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