Expand / Collapse search
☰

Florida man leaves 4-year-old child home alone as wife gets busted for having drugs in stolen vehicle: FHP

By
Published  January 16, 2025 10:27am EST
Polk County
FOX 13 News

The Brief

    • A Florida woman was arrested after troopers said they found drugs inside a stolen car she was driving.
    • The woman’s husband was arrested after troopers said he pulled up to his wife’s traffic stop and told troopers he had left a 4-year-old girl home alone.
    • The couple was taken to the Polk County Jail without incident.

DAVENPORT, Fla. - A Florida couple is facing charges after troopers found drugs in the wife’s car after pulling her over for driving a stolen vehicle and learned that her husband left her 4-year-old daughter home alone.

Traffic stop leads to drug bust

The backstory:

On Wednesday, troopers conducting traffic enforcement in Polk County said they saw a gray Chrysler Pacifica westbound on Ernie Caldwell Blvd.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the Pacifica had New York license plates and had been reported stolen.

When troopers pulled over the vehicle, they said the driver, Stephanie Niccole Hanley, 33, of Davenport, did not have a valid driver’s license.

READ: Tracey Nix found not guilty of aggravated manslaughter, guilty of leaving child in car unattended

Hanley told troopers that she got the vehicle on Dec. 26, 2024, and was using it to take her son to school.

Troopers said when they did an inventory of the vehicle, they found a black backpack with methamphetamine and several controlled prescriptions in a plastic bag.

Courtesy: Florida Highway Patrol

Courtesy: Florida Highway Patrol

Hanley’s husband arrested

What we know:

As troopers were arresting Hanley, they said her husband, Giovanne Junior Rivera Torres, 36, of Orlando, pulled up in a gray Hyundai.

According to FHP, the Florida tag attached to the Hyundai was not assigned to the vehicle.

READ: Man shot & killed at gas station, Hillsborough deputies searching for suspect

Troopers said Rivera Torres asked them how long it would take because he left Hanley’s 4-year-old daughter home alone.

When they went to Hanley’s home, troopers said they found the child at the residence by herself.

Rivera Torres was then arrested for child neglect without great bodily harm.

Hanley was charged with:

  • Burglary to an unoccupied conveyance-unarmed
  • Grand Theft of a motor vehicle
  • Possession of a controlled substance without a prescription
  • Possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver or distribute
  • Possession of a controlled substance
  • Possession of drug equipment
  • Operating a motor vehicle without a valid license

Hanley and Rivera Torres were taken to the Polk County Jail without incident.

The Source: This story was written with information provided by the Florida Highway Patrol. 

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA:

Polk CountyCrime and Public Safety