A routine shopping trip at a Hollywood Burlington turned chaotic when, according to police, a 22-year-old woman tried to hit her boyfriend and his 3-year-old daughter with her car outside the store at Oakwood Plaza. After a flurry of 911 calls, officers arrived to find a shaken family and witnesses who said the driver had steered up onto a curb and toward the man as he carried the toddler along the sidewalk. The driver, identified by police as Alexis T. Baber, was detained nearby and taken into custody on suspicion of aggravated assault and child neglect.
What police say
According to CBS News Miami, Hollywood officers were called to the 4100 block of Oakwood Boulevard around 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, after multiple callers reported a woman behind the wheel allegedly trying to hit a man outside the Burlington store. Officers say they soon spotted the vehicle driving erratically in the area, pulled it over in a traffic stop and then located the man and the child nearby.
The man told officers that Baber drove over the curb and in his direction while he was carrying the 3-year-old along the sidewalk, according to the arrest affidavit. Investigators wrote that there was probable cause to believe Baber committed aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and child abuse or neglect. Records cited in the report indicate she was booked into the Broward County jail following the incident and has since bonded out.
Charges and booking
Online booking logs list Baber on counts described as neglect of a child without great bodily harm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, corresponding to Florida Statutes 827.03 and 784.021. The public snapshot of the Broward County booking roster reflects those charges tied to the July 12 arrest. Florida Arrests hosts the booking entry referenced in the police documents.
Where it happened
Authorities say the confrontation unfolded outside the Burlington at Oakwood Plaza, the sprawling shopping center near the Stirling Road and Oakwood Boulevard interchange. Municipal property records and business listings place that Burlington location at 4100 Oakwood Boulevard in Hollywood. Oakwood Plaza, a long-standing retail hub drawing steady traffic from the I-95 Exit 22 corridor, routinely sees heavy weekend crowds, which helps explain the multiple 911 calls from shoppers during the incident. City documents also list Burlington at the 4100 Oakwood Boulevard parcel in Hollywood.
Legal context
Under Florida law, aggravated assault is defined as an assault "with a deadly weapon without intent to kill," and child abuse or neglect is addressed under Statute 827.03, and both carry potential felony penalties if prosecutors decide to move forward. The statutory language for aggravated assault appears on the state’s official statutes website. Whether formal criminal charges are ultimately filed will be up to prosecutors after they review the arrest affidavit and supporting evidence. The alleged victim told officers he did not want to press charges, according to CBS News Miami.
