A Virginia man was arrested in another state earlier this week after allegedly as*saulting and strangling the mother of his child before abandoning their newborn baby in the snow and fleeing to Florida.
Darvin Flores Caballeros, 20, was taken into custody in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., on Thursday, Feb. 20, amid a “felony stop.” He faces charges of malicious wounding, strangulation, two counts of child endangerment, as*sault and battery on a family member, petit larceny and an emergency protective order, according to a news release from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO).
The office, which shared the information on X, said the suspect had “active warrants” from the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia stemming from the alleged Feb. 12 domestic ass*ault, during which he was accused of a*ssaulting the mother of his child and abandoning his 13-day-old baby.
Per the office’s investigation, Caballeros is accused of dropping his child and as*saulting and strangling the baby’s mother during a fight. He then allegedly fled the scene on foot with the baby.
A “good Samaritan” later discovered the baby in a pile of snow, while the victim was “hospitalized with serious injuries after the attack,”.
WCSO deputies eventually arrested Caballeros a little over a week later, around 11 a.m. local time on Feb. 20, when they conducted a “felony stop” and found that he was the passenger in a vehicle.
An image shared by the office shows Caballeros on the ground and surrounded by authorities outside of a parked vehicle, as the driver has their hands up.
As of Feb. 20, the suspect was taken to Walton County Jail and was awaiting extradition. According to inmate information from the Walton County Jail’s website, Caballeros initially appeared in court virtually on Feb. 21, when he was charged as an “out-of-state fugitive.”
There is currently no bond information listed for Caballeros, and he remains “in custody” at the jail as of Feb. 22. It is unclear if he has retained an attorney. The WCSO did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further information on Feb. 22.
As authorities said, Caballeros’ charges follow Virginia State Statute, meaning they may be worded differently than what his charges would’ve been in Florida, where he was arrested. Per the WCSO, the charges still “reflect serious charges of aggravated battery, aggravated child abuse, and false imprisonment.”
Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. — where the suspect was taken into custody — is over 900 miles south of Fairfax County in Virginia.