The father of a baby, whose remains were found buried behind a Hallandale Beach home, pleaded not guilty on Friday to additional charges filed against him.
Calvin Melvin, 27, faces two charges of child neglect in addition to three charges for providing false information to police during the investigation of the disappearance of his son, Dontrell Melvin.
Documents filed say Melvin is negligent for various reasons including: “by failing to make a reasonable effort to locate and check on the welfare of his minor child, DM, and in doing so caused great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement ...”
Melvin’s defense attorney, Ed Hoag, says his client was not involved in the killing or burying of the baby, but due to the changes in charges, he withdrew a motion to dismiss.
Melvin is being held at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale on $151,000 bond.
The mother of the child, Brittney Sierra, 21, faces a charge of child neglect with bodily harm in the disappearance of her son. She is at the facility in North Broward on a $100,000 bond.
The baby, Dontrell Melvin, wasn’t discovered missing until 18 months after he was last seen, but was later identified by the skeleton remains found in backyard of their former home.
The Medical Examiner's Office ruled the boy's manner of death as a homicide and the cause of death was violence of undetermined means.
Under police questioning, Melvin and Sierra blamed each other in the boy's disappearance and each provided officers an area to search, authorities said.
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Photo Credit: NBC 6 South Florida