Milwaukee man abandoned 5-year-old grandson on street: complaint
MILWAUKEE - Prosecutors say a Milwaukee grandfather abandoned his 5-year-old grandson at 49th and Vliet on Saturday, June 10. A criminal complaint says the boy was forced out of his grandfather's car.
Evictus Tellis, 50, faces one count of child abandonment.
According to a criminal complaint, a citizen flagged down a police officer to report he saw a 5-year-old child walking and crying around 4 p.m. The child said his grandfather told him to get out of his vehicle and gave him $20.
The child told police there was an argument between his grandparents, and his grandmother got out of the car. His grandfather then told him he was sorry and to get out of the vehicle. The child said his grandfather was crying and left. The criminal complaint notes that the boy was "crying into his shirt during the time police and other citizens were interacting with him and trying to figure out who he was."
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The grandmother said the argument happened at Suds and Duds after Tellis accused her of stealing his car key. According to the complaint, she said he chased her around, and in an attempt to not escalate the situation, she started walking home. When she got home, she got a call from her daughter asking where the 5-year-old was. The grandmother said she told her daughter she had left the boy with Tellis, who arrived home without the boy. According to the grandmother, Tellis said the boy got out of the vehicle and wandered off.
Prosecutors say Tellis told police he "couldn't imagine" forcing his grandson out of his vehicle. He said he was emotional and "the only thing he could imagine had happened was that he assumed when he told the boy to get out of his vehicle that the boy would be able to catch up with his grandmother" as she walked home. The complaint says he admitted "this was his fault and he was in charge" of his grandson.
He was taken to the police station, and someone called saying they saw his picture on Facebook. Police were then able to get in touch with his mom.