ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica – Detective Sergeant Sheldon Dobson, whose 18-month-old daughter died after being left unattended in his car for several hours last year, had his case committed to the St Elizabeth Circuit Court following a hearing on Thursday.

Dobson, who appeared before presiding Judge Brodrick Smith, is to return to court on July 27.

His attorney Thomas Levene told OBSERVER ONLINE that Dobson’s bail was reduced from $750,000 to $200,000.

“The hearing saw submissions made by the Prosecution and the Defense Attorney. Ruling made that a prima facie case made out for Manslaughter. Given the circumstances he was offered bail for his appearance in Circuit, but in a reduced sum of $200,000. He was previously on bail in the sum of $750,000,” said Levene.

On January 17, 2022, Dobson, during a change of routine, left his baby daughter in his car for hours when he got to work at the Black River Police Station. The child, Shaleah Dobson, died two days later at hospital.

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Reports at the time indicated that the child would have been cared for on a daily basis by her maternal grandmother, while her parents were at work, but a day-care arrangement was made after the grandmother fell ill.

The detective sergeant in his rush to start work, is said to have forgotten the little girl on the backseat of the car, and drove off in a police service vehicle to Warminster, south-east St Elizabeth, about a 45-minute trip by road from Black River, to carry out a further probe into the case of a former Haitian official who was held on January 15, 2022 along with his wife, and two children.

The detective sergeant at that time was assigned to the Black River police station, while the child’s mother, a sergeant of police, was in the same St Elizabeth Division.