A mother and stepfather were arrested in Boca Raton Friday after two children were found in a running car in an underground parking garage.

According to officials with the Boca Raton police department, a 5 year-old girl and 11 year-old boy were found when a maintenance worker noticed an exhaust fan which vents the garage had been running for more than two hours. The worker found that the fan had been turned on after a carbon monoxide detector had gone off.

Police say the man then noticed a vehicle was running near the detector and two children were locked in the backseat. Responding officers spoke with the children who informed them that their parents were upstairs cleaning.

The children’s mother, Tatiano Marinho and their stepfather, Breno Lopes were questioned. The couple first claimed that one parent had stayed in the car with the children for most of the time, however garage surveillance video shows both adults were upstairs cleaning.

The two were arrested and charged with child neglect.

If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime, or need legal advice in the area of criminal law, contact a Boca Raton criminal defense lawyer of Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.A. by calling 561-353-2800.

Police in Tampa Bay, Florida discovered 1,200 pounds of marijuana inside of a trailer used to keep tar hot during transport.

According to officials with the Florida Department of law Enforcement, the trailer was seized as part of a multi-jurisdicitonal investigation that, police say, uncovered two marijuana trafficking operations in the state. Kim Cannaday, spokeswoman for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Department, said the investigation led to more than forty arrests.

The trailer contained tar that had cooled. “It looked like huge chunks of coal,” Cannaday said. “Because it was cool, it was extra dense…But the agents were able to reveal the hidden compartments underneath it. … It was like a false top, if you will. Under plywood was a compartment that kept all of this packaged pot.

The investigation involved the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The probe began in September of 2009 when detectives learned that a Seminole County man was distributing high-grade marijuana, smuggled from California, to University of Central Florida students.

Marijuana is the one of the most common illegal drugs found in the United States. The penalties for possessing, trafficking, and selling this substance are based upon the quantity found. Possessing or trafficking 20 grams or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor offense, punishable by up to one year in prison and a $1000 fine. All other charges, however, are felonious, and offenders face years in prison and fines of up to $100,000.

If you have been charged with a crime in Florida, please contact a Boca Raton criminal defense attorney of Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.A., by calling 561-353-2800.