Couple Brought 2-Year-Old With Them to Buy Drugs, Deputies Say

A Sarasota man and his girlfriend were arrested after they drove to a home to buy drugs and took along a 2-year-old girl in the car with them, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said they spotted the couple just before noon Thursday in a white BMW leaving a home at 3721 Stokes Dr. that has a history of drug-related crimes and activity. They stopped the car after recognizing the driver, 23-year-old Kameron Orser, from previous dealings — including, no doubt, his 22 prior arrests — and realizing his license was not valid.

Orser told deputies he went to the home to buy drugs and injected them while he was there. He also admitted he knowingly drove while his license was suspended, authorities said.

The woman in the car, 48-year-old Barbara Valdez, Orser's live-in girlfriend, allegedly told deputies she knew Orser was buying drugs and that his license was suspended, "but he was only driving for a minute," according to the arrest affidavit.

The child, who was found in the backseat of the car, had been in Valdez's care since the girl's mother was arrested and charged with dealing in stolen property earlier this month, deputies said.

The girl was released to an adult relative, and deputies notified the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Orser is charged with child abuse, driving while license suspended with knowledge and two counts of violation of probation.

Valdez is charged with child abuse and permitting an unauthorized person to drive.