Police weighing neglect charges in boy’s death

Keith Paul

Tuesday, June 11, 2002 | 9:35 a.m.

North Las Vegas Police will determine if a case against the mother of a 5-year-old boy found dead in a hot parked car over the weekend will be forwarded to prosecutors for charges.

Investigators will go through the car today to determine the working condition of the windows and doors to try to answer why 5-year-old Raymond Spinharey didn't or couldn't get out of the car, Sgt. Jim Neal of North Las Vegas Police said.

"This could be anything from an accident to child neglect," Neal said. "We can't make that determination until we know a little more."

The boy was apparently playing around the family's house in the 2500 block of Taylor Avenue, near Eastern and Owens avenues, Saturday. The boy came inside the house at some point in the late morning and then went back out again, police said.

The boy's mother was not home at the time, but when she came back she was told Raymond was missing and started looking for him, Neal said. There were several other people home at the time.

The boy was found inside the car in the back seat about 2 p.m. Family members tried to revive him and called for an ambulance. The boy was taken to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:48 p.m. Saturday.

Police said temperatures Saturday were 100 degrees or above.

An autopsy was done, but a cause of death will not be determined until results of toxicology test are completed. The tests normally take at least three weeks, coroner's office officials said.

The woman's 2-year-old son was taken to Child Haven Saturday after Raymond died, police said.

The car was towed to the police station and detectives were getting a search warrant to go through the car.

"We are going to do functional testing on the vehicle's doors and windows," Neal said. "We don't know if the inside (door) latches worked. You tell kids not to play in cars, but they still do."

Last year three local kids died after playing or being left inside hot cars, but in each instance the parents did not face charges.

However, a Las Vegas couple faces involuntary manslaughter charges after a 5-year-old girl drowned in a pool in May 2001. Prosectors pressed charges, alleging the couple gave the girl permission to play by the pool, despite knowing she could not swim.

Prosecutors alleged Gregory S. Jones and Rovelyn Aban closed the screen door so the cats could not get out. They found the girl -- Aban's daughter -- at the bottom of the pool about 15 minutes later, after realizing they could no longer hear her playing. Jones and Aban are scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court next month.