TYLER, Texas — Editor's Note: The above video was published in January 2023.
A Tyler man is expected to be sentenced in October after pleading guilty Monday to leaving his infant daughter alone in her car seat on the side of the road while intoxicated in January.
Paul Hanna, 38, entered his plea Monday afternoon to a child abandonment and endangerment charge in the 7th District Court, according to Smith County judicial records.
Hanna's sentencing hearing is currently set for the morning of Oct. 5, records show.
He was arrested on Jan. 11 on charges of driving while intoxicated for a second time and child endangerment. Police said a cyclist found his baby sitting in a car seat on the roadside in the 5100 block of Rhones Quarter Road late on the night of Jan. 10.
Hanna has remained in the Smith County Jail since his arrest on bonds totaling $752,500.
According to an arrest affidavit, after finding the baby, the cyclist went into a nearby home and called 9-1-1 from there. After getting reviewed by EMS, officials determined the child just had a minor abrasion on her hand. She was later picked up by family members.
Police officers found Hanna at the CEFCO parking lot on Troup Highway. They determined Hanna was the child's father and the last person seen with the child.
The affidavit said Hanna initially told police that his 1-year-old daughter was at his home with a full-time nurse who was attending to his 4-year-old son.
The night nurse told police that Hanna lives with the two children and the nurse hadn't seen Hanna or the baby girl in three hours. Using photos of the child, the nurse was able to identify the child as Hanna's, the affidavit said.
While interviewing Hanna, police officers said he gave numerous conflicting accounts and found him "uncredible and intoxicated," the affidavit read.
The charge that Hanna pleaded guilty to is a second-degree felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.