Hempstead man accused of leaving son in hot car posts bail

The Hempstead man accused of killing his 7-month-old son by leaving him in a hot car has been released from jail after posting bail, authorities said Thursday.

Meanwhile, Nassau County social services officials have visited the homes of the remaining children of Devon Fenner, 25, and determined they were not in any danger, according to police and a source close to the investigation.

Fenner, who was charged Wednesday with criminally negligent homicide, has two other children: a 7-year old son, who is the full sibling of the deceased 7-month-old named Dominick; and an 8-year-old son who lives elsewhere with his mother. Dominick's mother, who lives with Fenner, has a 4-year-old daughter with a different father.

"We have no reason to believe at this time they're in imminent danger," said Nassau Police spokesman Insp. Kenneth Lack, who said social services is investigating.

Fenner told police he accidentally left Dominick in his car parked outside his Milburn Avenue home for about 30 minutes Tuesday. He posted the $50,000 bond or $25,000 cash bail Wednesday, officials said.

Maureen McBride, Fenner's attorney, did not respond to calls seeking comment but said in court the case was a "tragedy." She said Fenner has worked for a moving and storage company.

Jenay Freeman, who said Dominick was her nephew, said the baby's mother is dealing with the loss of her son "as good as can be expected."

Karen Garber, a spokeswoman for the Nassau Department of Social Services, declined to comment, citing confidentiality rules.

But she said in general, when a child dies as a result of an alleged criminal act, the other children living in the home are not necessarily taken into custody of Child Protective Services.

Hypothetically speaking, she said, "An aunt steps forward and says, 'I can be a resource.' There's all sorts of variables that can come into effect."Fenner told police he returned home after dropping off his girlfriend at work shortly after 1 p.m., parked and went inside. After about a half-hour, Fenner told police, he realized his son was in the car. He found Dominick had stopped breathing and called 911.

Village police and medics found the baby "unconscious and unresponsive" and started CPR, police said. He was pronounced dead about 2:30 p.m. at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre.