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PD: Couple arrested after leaving boy in car while gambling at Scottsdale casino

Posted at 1:27 PM, Oct 10, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-10 23:48:10-04

A couple is facing child abuse charges after allegedly leaving a young boy inside a car while they gambled at a Scottsdale casino.

Brad Porter Jr. and Jessica Lopez were arrested early Sunday outside Casino Arizona after leaving Lopez's 5-year-old son alone inside their vehicle, court documents state.

According to the documents, police found marijuana and several bottles of beer inside the couple's car.

Porter and Lopez are facing child abuse, endangerment, and drug possession and paraphernalia charges.

In a jailhouse interview, Porter said he bears the majority of the responsibility for what happened.

"I blame myself because I'm the man you know, and she needs my help every day," Porter said. "I should've made better decisions for my family you know? Then my son would be okay right now."

Porter says he and Lopez traveled to the casino to try and improve their financial situation.

"I was like, 'That would've been smarter to leave one of us there, and one of us go,' you know? But at the time that was not even a thought for me," Porter said. "I was just trying to hurry up and I was hoping I wasn't going to go broke with my last little bit of money."