Vigilant neighbors saved a one-month-old baby from being thrown into a dumpster and suffering more physical abuse, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office detectives say.
LaChanazee Horbbs, 25, is accused of trying to throw the one-month-old baby into the garbage and then violently shaking her in Belle Glade.
Neighbors said they saw Horbbs holding the baby over a dumpster near SW 5th St and SW Ave D on May 1, according to an arrest report. That’s when they say they jumped into action and took the child away from her.
The baby’s legal guardian told detectives she got into an argument with Horbbs Tuesday night. Horbbs got upset and walked back towards her home with the baby, the report states.
Then, the woman reported seeing Horbbs hold the baby over a garbage dumpster on the street, as if she were going to throw the baby into it. The baby started crying.
A man tried taking the baby away from Horbbs because he was afraid of her behavior, deputies said.
Horbbs thrust the baby outward, causing “the baby’s head to snap back,” a detective wrote in the report. Another witness said they took the baby away from Horbbs.
The baby was taken to Lakeside Medical Center, where doctors medically cleared the child with no signs of injury. The baby will be tested later to ensure there’s no permanent damage.
Deputies found Horbbs, who said she admitted to forcibly shaking the baby and holding her over the dumpster.
Horbbs’s relation to the baby is redacted to the report.
Horbbs was arrested and is facing a charge of child abuse. She was released from the Palm Beach County Jail on $10,000 bond.