Toddlers Roam at Night; Dad Held

Police have arrested the father of two toddlers who were found standing alone on an Upland street corner soon after midnight Thursday.

The brothers, ages 1 and 3, were found by residents as they tried to cross at the corner of Campus Avenue and Olive Street at 12:30 a.m.

The boys were not able to help police find their parents or say where they lived.

Police said that as a result of news media coverage of the children, the boys’ grandfather told police the boys’ names.

Police then contacted his son, Marcos Jimenez, 23, of Upland, Thursday afternoon. Evidence developed during the investigation led to Jimenez’s arrest on suspicion of felony child endangerment, police said.

“We found real negligence in the kids’ care,” Upland police spokesman Sgt. Alan Ansara said.

Ansara said investigators had found that Jimenez lived with his parents less than a quarter-mile from the corner where his children were found, but it remained uncertain how the boys came to be there.

“The children were put in danger by their father’s negligence,” Ansara said.

“It was a lack of parental supervision.”

The preliminary police investigation found that the boys’ mother lives out of state, and Jimenez has custody.

Police said San Bernardino County Child Protective Services officials would determine who was to gain custody.

“You usually don’t see kids of that age run away, but you do see them wander,” Ansara said.

“A couple of passersby saw them walking on the street and called us. It’s very odd.”