WAYNE COUNTY - A Detroit man who pleaded guilty last month to leaving his 1-year-old infant unattended in his car overnight this past winter will serve probation as his sentence, a judge ruled on Monday.

Orlander Murnell Linson, Jr., 35, was charged with second-degree child abuse and leaving a child in a car, resulting in physical harm, in connection to the Feb. 27 incident.

Orlander Murnell Linson, Jr., 35, of Detroit, will serve five years probation for leaving his 13-month-old child unattended in a vehicle overnight this past February. (WDIV)

Police say Linson abandoned his car with the child inside in front of a home on Damman Street in Harper Woods around 3:30 a.m. After receiving a report about an abandoned vehicle, police responded to the area and had the vehicle impounded. Officers say they didn't see anyone inside, however, the boy was still inside the car when it was towed to the impound lot.

The child's mother reported her son missing to Detroit police the following day, at which point the baby was found inside the car at an impound lot on Lexington Street in Eastpointe and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

A 13-month-old baby was found inside a vehicle at an impound lot on Lexington Street in Eastpointe Feb. 28, 2026. (WDIV)

Linson was sentenced on Monday to serve five years probation in the case.

 I don't know what would possess a person to abandon a helpless 13-month-old in a car in winter weather,  Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said upon announcing the charges.  The alleged actions of this defendant are truly disturbing. 

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