A Hollister man arrested in November and accused of abandoning a toddler to flee from police has accepted a plea deal on related charges and is scheduled for sentencing in February, according to court records.
Kevin Dunn, 34, was arrested in early November after he had been walking a toddler in a stroller and fled from a sheriff’s deputy. Authorities alleged he ended up invading a home and falling through a ceiling before the arrest, after which prosecutors accused him of possessing methamphetamine, child cruelty and resisting arrest.
Dunn at a recent court appearance agreed to accept a plea bargain, while pleading no contest to possession of a controlled substance and resisting or obstructing officers, according to records. Those records indicated the child cruelty charge was under review.
His sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Feb. 16 at the San Benito County Courthouse.
A judge’s notes in court records indicated that Dunn could receive a sentence of felony probation along with 120 days in the county jail, though he might get credit for time served.
Authorities arrested Dunn after he had fallen through the sheet rock of a ceiling at an apartment complex on Caputo Court in Hollister.
It all started when a sheriff’s deputy recognized Dunn in the 1300 block of Sunset Drive as being wanted for having a misdemeanor warrant. As the deputy tried to place handcuffs on Dunn, he fled the officer and left behind the child.
That deputy stayed with the 2-year-old child and requested backup from the Hollister Police Department and San Benito County Probation Department.
Authorities went to an area where Dunn had been seen on rooftops and surrounded the complex on Caputo Court. A deputy had heard someone moving in a crawl space and entered the apartment. A woman told him Dunn had entered the apartment and went into the crawl space, according to the sheriff’s office.
As he was trying to escape, he fell through the ceiling and landed in a bedroom. He tried to escape through a window, but authorities met him outside and arrested him, according to the sheriff’s office.
Authorities initially recommended charges of cruelty to a child, deserting a child under 14, vandalism, burglary, having a misdemeanor warrant, battery on an officer and possession of a controlled substance.
