Man Facing Felony Charge After Child Found In Running Car In Tolland

TOLLAND, CT — A Coventry man is facing a felony charge in connection with a child being left alone in a shopping plaza parking lot in Tolland, state police said.

The case dates back to Dec. 18, when state troopers received a call at about 1 p.m. about a juvenile alone in a running vehicle, according to an incident report.

The vehicle had left the Fieldstone Commons lot when state police arrived, but the vehicle was quickly tracked down and stopped on a nearby road, state police said. Troopers identified the driver as Muhamad Faraj, 24, of Coventry and discovered a three-year-old boy in the vehicle, according to an incident report.

Faraj admitted to troopers that he had left the vehicle running with the keys in the ignition and the juvenile in the back when he went inside a business to pick up some items, state police said. Troopers did not observe the child to be injured, and the child's mother was contacted, who allowed the child to remain with Faraj, according to an incident report.

Troopers were then able to review surveillance footage from inside the store and observed Faraj inside for approximately 10 minutes while the juvenile was in the running vehicle, according to an incident report. Based on "all information," state police submitted an arrest warrant for Faraj, which was reviewed and signed in Rockville Superior Court. On Tuesday, Faraj surrendered at Troop C and was charged with risk of injury to a child.

Faraj was later released on a $5,000 bond and has a court date of Feb. 18, records show.