California father loses ‘victim’ status and charged with 2yo son’s death in a flood

A father is at the center of a very serious charge surrounding the untimely death of his two-year-old son in California. Brandon Padilla-Aguillera was initially seen by his community as a bereaved victim of a flood in Barstow that took his son’s life, but on Oct. 21, he was suddenly handcuffed and escorted out of his house by the Barstow Police Department on charges that he might have been a neglectful father.

There have been far too many instances of parents not taking their responsibilities seriously for the police to take such a situation lightly. In a statement released on its official Facebook page, the Barstow Police Department did not go into detail about what exactly they were going to charge Brandon with, but they did mention that they had diligently carried out investigations for an entire month.

In the statement, the police department also took time to acknowledge what Brandon went through during the flood. The month prior, on Sep. 19, Brandon had gone on a drive with his son, Xavier Padilla-Aguillera, who had just turned 2 years old days earlier. But floodwaters overtook their car and carried it down the road. Reports confirm that at that point, Brandon was able to escape the vehicle with his son, Xavier. However, the two were soon separated, and Brandon floated to an island formed by the floodwater. Unfortunately, Xavier was found deceased two days later.

Café Mom was able to ascertain that Brandon’s initial charge was manslaughter. Later, however, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office revised the charge to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and child endangerment. The District Attorney’s Office believes they have evidence that Brandon had willfully harmed his own child, and that ultimately is what resulted in his death. It’s hard to get a clearer understanding of how they reached this conclusion, as they seem to be gearing up for a court battle that won’t include a confession like other cases of this nature.

Furthermore, there was also confirmation that Xavier happened to be a nonverbal autistic child, and while that might seem completely unrelated to an unfortunate floodwater death, it could gain relevance in a criminal case. There have been previous instances of parents losing their patience with their children’s special needs when responding to an autism diagnosis. So if the District Attorney claims they have evidence of willful endangerment — there’s a chance the case might be headed in that direction as well.

Brandon’s bond was set at $200,000, and his case is scheduled to start on Oct. 27. If Brandon pleads not guilty, he will certainly have the support of his community, who made their voices heard in Facebook comments, saying they consider him innocent of the charges leveled against him.

However, there are others who mention that Brandon disregarded all the flood warnings that day and went straight ahead into danger. There’s also major criticism toward Brandon for leaving the car in the first place — some believe he should have stayed in the vehicle and waited for help. But ultimately, the final say will lie with the jury.