CLEARFIELD – A Rockton man pleaded guilty Monday to recklessly endangering another person for leaving a six-month-old child unattended.
Brayden Lee Smith, 19, was placed in charge of the child by Zachary Clinchoc, who is also facing charges of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person in connection with the incident in Union Township on Aug. 4, 2022.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, police received a report that Clinchoc, 34, of Rockton, had left his six-month-old child alone in his apartment for an undetermined amount of time.
Further investigation revealed that Smith was babysitting but had to leave. He texted Clinchoc, who sent someone else to the home. She arrived between 20 to 30 minutes after Clinchoc’s call to find the child alone.
The baby was sitting in a jumper chair in the “extremely cold” home, she said.
The apartment reportedly had no supplies or proper sleeping accommodations for the child.
Smith told police he “barely knew” Clinchoc but agreed to watch his son. After he took the child out of a car seat, he noticed the baby was very cold and had purple/blue spots all over its legs. It also appeared the child had “not eaten in some time.”
He commented that there were no supplies for the baby in the apartment and that he heard that Clinchoc “smokes marijuana and methamphetamine around the child.”
Smith explained that his girlfriend received an important message about her own child, and they needed to leave. This is when he contacted Clinchoc, who responded that someone was on the way to the apartment to care for the baby.
Smith said they waited about 30 minutes before they left the child alone. He stated he knew he shouldn’t have done this “but didn’t know what else to do.”
When investigators spoke with Clinchoc, he said Smith was watching the child for him but texted saying he had to leave, which was when he contacted the witness to go to his apartment.
He said he “didn’t think Smith would leave the child alone.”
During sentencing court Monday, President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman sentenced Smith to serve 30 days to one year in the county jail with 18 months concurrent probation.
It was noted that he is required to continue to cooperate in the case against Clinchoc. At this point, Clinchoc has also signed a plea agreement and is scheduled to be sentenced in December.
