A 63-year-old Sunny Isles Beach father is facing a child neglect charge after his 4-year-old son was found wandering alone along Collins Avenue for about an hour, carrying a half-eaten slice of pizza and showing visible redness on his face. Semyon Levin was arrested Wednesday after police said he failed to alert authorities once he realized his son was missing, instead waiting until he later encountered an officer in his own apartment lobby.
According to WPLG Local 10, the incident began around 3 p.m. Wednesday when Levin ate with his son at a Starbucks near 17100 Collins Avenue. Investigators say the boy was later seen walking north alone along the sidewalk parallel to Collins Avenue, prompting a driver to alert a Sunny Isles Beach police officer conducting a traffic stop near 17200 Collins Avenue at about 4 p.m. Officers placed the child in a patrol vehicle and searched the surrounding area for a parent or guardian, even showing the boy's photograph to several people nearby and visiting a nearby apartment complex on 174th Street trying to identify him.
Father Didn't Call Police After Realizing Son Was Gone
Levin told investigators he lost sight of his son while the child was under his supervision, and said he believed the boy may have left with his 9-year-old sister, according to the police report cited by Local 10. Levin's 9-year-old and 7-year-old daughters had left the Starbucks and walked home without an adult, the outlet reports. Levin said he realized his son was missing but did not immediately contact police for help, telling investigators in a recorded interview that he did not believe the situation constituted an emergency.
Levin also told police he frequently loses sight of his son because the boy has “too much energy.” Investigators concluded that Levin had opportunities to alert law enforcement after leaving Starbucks but failed to do so, according to the police report. He eventually responded to the scene after being contacted by his wife, who told police she had been searching for their son. The woman was identified as the boy's mother. Police say Levin saw an officer wearing a clearly marked police vest in his apartment building lobby, where an unmarked police vehicle sat outside with emergency lights activated, before he was taken to the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department for questioning. Levin waived his Miranda rights during that interview.
Charged With Felony Neglect, Held at TGK
Police arrested Levin on a child neglect charge, saying his actions endangered the child's safety and health. Under Florida Statute § 827.03(2)(d), child neglect without great bodily harm is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to Hussein & Webber, PL. To secure a conviction, prosecutors must prove Levin acted with what the law calls culpable negligence — a gross or flagrant failure to use reasonable care that shows utter disregard for safety, a much higher bar than ordinary carelessness. Florida law allows such charges to rest on a single incident, rather than requiring a pattern of conduct, so long as that incident reasonably created a substantial risk of serious injury or death.
As the biological father accompanying his children at Starbucks, Levin met the legal definition of a caregiver under Florida Statute § 827.03, according to Hanlon Law. Online jail records listed his bond as “to be set” after he was transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center for processing. TGK serves as Miami-Dade County's central intake and booking facility for adult arrestees awaiting initial court appearances, and Levin remained jailed there as of Thursday morning.
Second Unsupervised-Child Case on Same Corridor in Days
The arrest comes just three days after another child neglect case rattled the same stretch of Sunny Isles Beach. As Hoodline reported in a recent unsupervised child case, a 41-year-old Texas mother was arrested on the same felony charge after leaving her 6-year-old son unsupervised for nearly an hour at Town Center Park along Collins Avenue while she retrieved toys and ate with a friend. Two similar incidents involving young children left alone near the same corridor within a matter of days point to a pattern local officials will likely be watching closely.
Collins Avenue, also known as State Road A1A, is the sole primary north-south corridor through Sunny Isles Beach, carrying dense vehicular, delivery, and rideshare traffic past high-rise residential towers and resort complexes, according to the Dante Law Firm. That traffic volume, combined with high-rise density and seasonal drivers unfamiliar with local roads, makes the corridor a frequent site of serious pedestrian safety concerns — a danger made starkly concrete by a 4-year-old wandering alone there for roughly an hour. The city issued public reminders about pedestrian safety regulations and stepped up police enforcement along the corridor earlier this year, as city commissioners have pushed for traffic safety measures and lower speed limits to protect pedestrians and families.
DCF Investigation Expected to Follow Criminal Case
Florida law requires anyone who suspects child abuse, neglect, or abandonment to report it immediately to the Florida Abuse Hotline, under a mandatory reporting statute that applies to all citizens, not just designated professionals. Once a report is accepted, the Florida Department of Children and Families is required under Chapter 39 of the Florida Statutes to conduct in-person interviews with parents, caregivers, and children to assess home safety, according to Gulf Coast Adoptions. That means a child protective investigation is expected to proceed alongside the criminal case, examining the household and the safety of all three of Levin's children as the neglect charge against him moves through court.
