HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The 5-year-old boy who died last week was trapped inside a hot car that was parked on his family’s property in Dededo.
According to court documents, the child, who family members identified as Jayden Joseph Mantanona Duenas, was apparently struggling to find a way out of the vehicle.
Investigators noted numerous child-sized handprints and footprints inside the car, and neighbors told police they heard repeated car horn sounds for long periods of time from early to mid-afternoon on March 15.
His father, Joseph Anthony Leon Guerrero Duenas, 28, was arrested Monday afternoon and faces charges of negligent homicide and child abuse, both as third-degree felonies.
Joseph Duenas was placed under house arrest after Assistant Attorney General Renaida San Nicolas recommended he be released from prison on a $20,000 personal recognizance bond.
Smoked meth
Joseph Duenas admitted to officers that he smoked methamphetamine the night before and that he was in a deep sleep on the day of the incident.
He told authorities he went to sleep in his bedroom with his son on the same bed, documents state. The boy’s mother, Jaelene Mantanona, said she was at work.
Jayden Duenas somehow was able to go outside unsupervised.
The vehicle Jayden Duenas was found in had defective door handles on the interior and was parked in direct sunlight, documents state.
When found, Jayden Duenas was not breathing and had no pulse, according to court documents.
Joseph Duenas was awakened by a woman known to him before he realized that his son was no longer by his side.
He then brought his son to the fire station, where medics tried to save him as they rushed him to the nearby Guam Regional Medical City. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
An autopsy is expected to be performed this week to confirm the cause of death.
Magistrate Judge Benjamin Sison told Joseph Duenas during his magistrate’s hearing Tuesday afternoon that he is not allowed to be with any minors.
He is scheduled to appear back in court April 11.
According to prison records, Joseph Duenas was arrested in 2013 on charges of reckless driving, eluding a police officer and other traffic-related offenses.
