DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Georgia family’s beach vacation ended in handcuffs for the parents.
Timothy Stephens and his fiancée, Alyssia Langley, from Gwinnett County in Georgia were arrested on child neglect charges while visiting Daytona Beach, Florida over the weekend.
According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, they found Stephens and Langley passed out on the beach with several empty beer cans and an empty bottle of Crown Royal surrounding them.
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The couple had children’s toys around them, so when deputies were eventually able to wake the couple they asked where the children were.
In body camera footage shared with Channel 2 Action News, Stephens can be seen gesturing generically toward the ocean, but not pointing out any children in particular.
Deputies were able to determine their children, ages 5 and 7, were not in the ocean, but found them swimming in the pool of the hotel they were staying in.
Stephens is not the biological father of the children, but Langley said he shares the responsibility of caring for them with her, therefore making him a legal guardian. The kids referred to him as “dad” and “other daddy.”
Both Stephens and Langley were arrested and placed in handcuffs and began arguing with one another.
“Now we’re both going to jail. Who the [expletive] is gonna bond us out?” Langley can be heard saying to Stephens in the body camera footage.
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Stephens then tries to run away, still handcuffed, but is stopped by deputies mere seconds later when he trips and falls face-first into the sand. He was knocked unconscious by the fall and taken to the hospital by ambulance.
After several hours, Stephens was released from the hospital.
Both he and Langley were taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail on child neglect charges. Stephens was also charged with possession of alcohol on the beach and escape.
Langley’s grandfather told deputies that he would drive down from Georgia to take custody of the children.
Both posted bond and were released the next day.
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