A former Prescott man is facing charges for allegedly abandoning his child, leaving them to walk the streets of Prescott with nowhere to go.

Dustin O. Davis, 38, Red Wing, Minn., formerly of Prescott, posted a $10,000 signature bond Oct. 2 in Pierce County Circuit Court on felony abandonment of a child and neglecting a child (specified harm did not occur) charges. If convicted, the maximum penalty Davis would face is up to 10 years in prison and/or fines up to $25,000.

According to the complaint:

At 10:48 p.m. March 5, 2023, a Prescott police officer responded to Malone Intermediate School (1220 St. Croix St.) after a juvenile called 911 asking to speak to an officer. The 16-year-old was hoping to find a ride to a family member’s house in the Cities. Police had a long history with the juvenile’s family; the last contact they had was when Davis and his wife kicked the juvenile out on Nov. 22, 2022 and left it up to law enforcement and Pierce County Child Protective Services to find the juvenile a place to stay.

The juvenile met police at the school wearing pants, shoes and thin, long-sleeve T-shirt. The temperature was 32 degrees and they looked cold. The juvenile told police they were bouncing from friend’s house to friend’s house since March 1 because their parents wouldn’t let them stay with them in Hastings, Minn. after they were evicted from their home in Prescott.

Police took the juvenile to the police station to get warm while they attempted to contact the juvenile’s parents. They reached a family member in the Cities, who agreed the juvenile could come there; however, she couldn’t get there until morning because of the heavy snowfall and strong winds. The juvenile told police if they tried to put them in foster care, they’d have to tase them, fight them, cuff them or shoot them.

Officers finally reached the juvenile’s stepmother on the phone, who refused to come pick them up because she and her husband were going to bed. She blamed the juvenile for getting them evicted and said the juvenile had run away. She had no answer when police asked why the juvenile hadn’t been reported as a runaway and admitted they wouldn’t allow the juvenile to be with them in Hastings because of them doing “too much bad stuff that is not allowed in their home.” Police told her that that doesn’t make it okay to abandon a child on the streets, leaving them to fend for themselves and bouncing around to friends’ homes. The woman stated multiple times they would not be assisting the juvenile in finding a place to stay.

Police and CPS allowed the juvenile to stay with a friend until the family member could pick them up the next day.

Davis is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Pierce County Circuit Court at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 16.