Homeless Man Saves Lost Boy, Mother Arrested.
A homeless man in Miami turned into an unlikely hero when he spotted a little boy walking alone through a tough neighborhood late one night.
Arnett Johnson has been crashing on the same bench in the Allapattah area since he got out of prison six months ago. Around 11 p.m. Wednesday he noticed the 6-year-old wandering the sidewalk by himself. Johnson looked around to see if any parents were nearby, then called police and stayed right there with the kid until officers showed up.
The boy, who has delayed speech, told cops that “Mommy drop me off and left me.”
Police put out a flyer to identify the child. The next day, a school resource officer recognized him and tipped off Miami police. That led them straight to the boy’s mom, 30-year-old Annie Rivera.
Rivera was arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm. A witness who had just started housing her and the boy said they went missing around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. She came back by early Thursday without the child and told detectives she had no idea he was gone.
The boy is now safe in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.