NEW YORK – The father of a 4-year-old boy found dead in a Harlem apartment, apparently of malnutrition, has been arrested in the case, hours after the mother was charged, according to police sources.
Charges are still pending against 25-year-old Laron Modlin. He has two sealed arrests from 2015, though the details were unclear. It was also unclear if he had a lawyer.
According to investigators, police officers responding to a 9-1-1 call about an unconscious child at a home on Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard shortly before 6pm on Sunday found the child unresponsive. He was transported to Harlem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police later identified the boy as Jahmeik Modlin. The medical examiner determines the cause of death.
Officers arrested her mother, Nytavia Ragsdale, for questioning and later charged her with criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child. Attorney information for Ragsdale, 26, was not immediately available.
A woman who lives in the same building said Ragsdale had four children, although several neighbors and the building’s superintendent told NBC New York they never saw the children and when they saw their mother , she rarely wore clean clothes.
“I never see them go to school… I never see her take them out. I don’t even see her grocery shopping, to be honest,” said the Erica Speed’s neighbor. “She wore the same clothes for almost two years. I tried to offer her clothes, her pride is also … I don’t know. She never asked for help.”
Speed noted that staff from the Administration for Children’s Services had recently been at the building to conduct a general outreach. The group is now investigating the incident with the New York Police Department.
“At the end of the day, you have a right to protect your child. You have no right to let anyone hurt your child… Where are the others? Because only one came out. What about the other three ?” asked.
Police said the three other children who lived in the apartment were under the age of 10 and were staying with other family members on Monday night.
Around noon Monday, Emergency Services Unit officers entered the apartment building with tactical gear and tools. Police sources said it was for a welfare check, but no one was home.
“Sometimes there are traumas that we see and we don’t see … so neighbors, people like that, have to check on each other, whether they know the person or not,” said Dr. Iesha Sekou, executive director of Corner Resource Street.
2024-10-15 16:38:00
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