Lexington Park, MD – A Leonardtown man appeared before a U.S. District Court judge Thursday afternoon, Sept. 4, charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of his infant son. John Macdonald Junek, 40, had discovered his son unresponsive Wednesday, Sept. 3 around 3:20 p.m. inside his vehicle, which was parked at Patuxent Naval Air Station.
According to court documents, Junek called 911 and reported his son had been found locked inside a vehicle at the parking lot located at Building 2187 where he (Junek) worked. “The infant was described as unconscious, unresponsive and not breathing,” Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Special Agent Ricardo Solis stated in the charging documents. Emergency medical responders and base police responded to the scene. Efforts to revive the child were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Junek told law enforcement that he had received a call from his wife at approximately 3:20 p.m. that day, and she had asked him if he had their son’s car seat with him,” Solis stated in court documents. “Junek recalled he was not sure if he had the car seat or not and then realized that he had not possibly dropped the child off at the Child Development Center.” Junek had earlier in the day dropped his 4-year-old son off a pre-school but forgot to stop at the base’s child development center. He instead drove to his office, arriving at shortly before 9 a.m.
The court documents further stated that shortly before 1 p.m. he returned to the vehicle and drove to another base building for a meeting. “Junek explained that he had opened the door to his vehicle and that it was very hot in the vehicle,” Solis stated. “Junek stated that he had to open the window and turn on the air conditioner to get the hot air out of the vehicle and that it took until he had departed the parking lot and was driving down the road for the vehicle to cool down. Junek was in the meeting until approximately 2 p.m. and he returned to his office and parked the vehicle again in the parking lot at Building 2187 with the [vehicle’s] windows rolled up. During the time of his use of the vehicle during the day, Junek stated that he had been in a hurry to get to his meeting and did not notice that his son was still strapped to his car seat in the rear seat of the vehicle. ”
Solis noted that leaving the child in the vehicle for approximately seven hours with temperatures up to 85 degrees constituted “the commission of an unlawful act” which led to the infant’s death.
The Sept. 4 hearing was held at U.S. District Court in Greenbelt with U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles B., Day presiding. After consultation with the defense and prosecuting attorneys, Day released Junek to the custody of his parents, contingent on the determination of the court’s pre-trial investigation that all guns have been removed from the parents’ home. It was reported during the proceedings that during a preliminary search of the home one loaded gun was found.
Junek was represented during the proceedings by Megan Coleman. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented by Christy O’Malley.
Members of Junek’s family—his wife Annette, parents, sister and brother-in-law—were in court during the hearing. Annette Junek declined The Bay Net’s request for comment following the hearing.
A preliminary hearing on the case is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 25 at 4 p.m.
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Vice Commander Brig. Gen. Frank L. Kelley, USMC, called the incident a “tragic loss” for the entire Pax River community.” Kelley added that base officials are extending “sympathy and support to the family.” Additionally, the base will be offering counseling to the family and Junek’s coworkers.