By Jerry Burke
A Peruvian-born horse groomer from Elmont who left his 9-month-old daughter to die in the back seat of his car while he gambled at a Florida racetrack will be sentenced next month, after pleading guilty to one charge of aggravated manslaughter.
Antonio Francisco Balta, 28, faces up to 30 years in prison for leaving his infant daughter, Veronica, strapped in her car seat in his 1996 Pontiac for most of the day while he watched and bet on races during the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach last March.
According to the statement Balta gave police soon after the baby's death, he said he left a window cracked "less than a half inch" and claimed to have checked on her "from time to time" while he socialized at the track. He said that he left Veronica alone for about 45 minutes before he checked on her a final time and saw that she was not breathing.
Balta's attorney, Ken Padowitz, told reporters outside the Broward County (Florida) Courthouse that Balta is entitled to as light a sentence as a Florida dentist who left his son in a hot car last summer. The dentist received 10 years of probation and 500 hours of community service.
"My client has an IQ of 74, does not have the same resources and has already spent a year in jail," said Padowitz. He maintained that Balta pleaded guilty in order to take responsibility for his actions and to throw himself on the mercy of Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes rather than face a jury.
Prosecutor Howard Scheinberg, however, said he sees a different outcome and will recommend 20 years in prison for Balta. "He chose betting on the horses instead of wanting to be bothered by his child," Scheinberg told reporters. "She slowly and terribly suffered until she died. You can't excuse that by saying you're not the brightest bulb on the circuit."
According to the coroner's report, the baby's body temperature reached 107 degrees in the car, where the air temperature was probably 125 degrees, Scheinberg said, adding that police were prepared to testify that Balta slept in the police car while the investigation was going on.
Sentencing is set for March 21, but Scheinberg said that Balta will probably never make it back to Elmont, because he is scheduled to be deported to Peru after completing whatever sentence he receives.
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