The Los Alamitos Police Department yesterday reported a Rossmoor couple was arrested, cited, and released for leaving a 2 ½ year old child locked alone in a car while the couple was inside Katella Deli, on Katella Avenue. Los Alamitos Police Captain Bruce McAlpine told www.OC180NEWS, the baby was left alone in the car for at least 15 minutes at around noon.

The defendants, Elhan Farajian, 42, Rossmoor, and Behzad Sarmast, 45, Rossmoor, were cited and released at the scene. McAlpine said “They are the child’s parents.”

The couple were cited by the Los Al PD on a misdemeanor child endangerment law and formal charges have not yet been filed by the District Attorney’s Office. “We sent the case to the DA today {July 15, 2010} and so it’s under review,” McAlpine said.

“The parents were in the restaurant for approximately fifteen minutes – the child was locked in the car sleeping,” said Captain McAlpine. “We received the call at 12:22 in the afternoon – according to the {Police} report, the temperature was 71 degrees. The report doesn’t say how hot it would have been inside the car. The car was found with the front and back windows open {about one inch}. The doors were locked, but the windows were open. It was overcast and the ambient air temperature outside was 71 degrees, and the child did not appear to be in any type of distress or in need of any medical attention.”

McAlpine told us after consultation with Child Protective Services, the child was released to the parents.

“Based on the officer’s assessment, the child was never in any grave danger, did not show physical signs of distress – heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or profuse sweating, trouble breathing etc,” McAlpine reported. “The paramedics were not called to the scene and given everything the officers observed, they chose to use the misdemeanor section rather than the felony child endangerment section.”