Father accused of abandoning infant daughter in restaurant dumpster shows up to court wearing Nirvana smiley face T-shirt

A 28-year-old father in Texas was arrested after he allegedly abandoned his infant daughter in a dumpster behind a restaurant because he didn’t want to care for the child. Anferne Gray appeared in court on Tuesday donning a Nirvana T-shirt where he was formally charged with felony abandoning a child and aggravated assault, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.

The aggravated assault charge stems from Gray allegedly attacking the child’s mother. He is also facing one count each of assault on a family member — impeding breathing and assault on a family member with a previous conviction.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Harris County District Court, Gray on July 22, 2024, unlawfully had care and control of the child when he “intentionally” abandoned the child “in an enclosed dumpster area behind a restaurant.” Doing so left the infant exposed to “an unreasonable risk of harm,” primarily because the child was left “unattended for three to four hours,” prosecutors said.

The document also alleges that Gray failed to deliver the baby to a designated emergency infant care provider.

Gray appeared in court for a probable cause hearing on Tuesday where authorities revealed more details in the case, according to courtroom video provided by Houston CBS affiliate KHOU.

A county magistrate judge explained that Gray on Monday allegedly left his daughter next to the pool of a motel in Pasadena, Texas, unattended for about 20 minutes before returning.

“Then you picked up the child, walked about 1,000 feet to a nearby restaurant where you allegedly left the baby inside of a dumpster enclosure,” the judge said during the hearing. “You left the child unattended there for three to four hours.”

The child survived after reportedly being transported to a hospital for treatment, though her precise condition was not immediately clear.

Officers with the Houston Police Department reportedly responded to the area and began searching for the child after the mother called 911 when she realized that Gray had not taken the baby to a fire station as he said he was going to do.

KHOU reported that Gray is also accused of telling someone that he simply did not want to care for the baby anymore.

Gray on Tuesday told the court that he was mentally overwhelmed and was not capable of caring for his daughter, Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported.

Gray is currently being held in the Harris County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond. Should he be released, he is prohibited from having any contact with his daughter or the child’s mother.

He is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Wednesday.

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