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Harrison police charged a Buffalo Township man with child endangerment after they responded to a call that he left his infant son in the car when he went to the bank and then took off speeding to shop at Walmart.

Nathan Fantuzzo, 31, of the 100 block of Beale Drive, was charged with a felony count of child endangerment along with drug possession, driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license in connection with the April 22 incident.

Fantuzzo is being detained in Allegheny County Jail after a judge denied bail during his arraignment because he is considered a danger to the community, according to court records. He faces a preliminary hearing on the charges before District Judge Carolyn Bengel on Wednesday, May 4.

While officers were responding to the report at First Commonwealth Bank in the Highlands Mall shopping center at around 10 a.m., the man who made the initial call contacted police to say the vehicle drove off at a high rate of speed and that he followed it to the Walmart store in the shopping center, according to a criminal complaint.

When an officer went into the store to look for the man, an employee waved him down to say that there was an intoxicated man near the meat aisle pushing a baby in a grocery cart, the complaint said.

Police said they knew Fantuzzo from previous encounters and that he was “sweating profusely and was unable to stand still without scratching or picking at his arms and face,” according to his arrest papers.

Fantuzzo initially denied being intoxicated but later admitted to police that he snorted heroin earlier in the day, the complaint said.

Police contacted the baby’s mother and made arrangements for her to take custody of the child.

She told investigators that Fantuzzo “showed up at her work intoxicated” and was supposed to walk to the Walmart to buy groceries, the complaint said.

Police said surveillance video shows Fantuzzo driving the car, which was registered to his child’s mother, and park it at Walmart before going into the store.

While he was being taken into custody, police searched the diaper bag Fantuzzo was carrying and found nine stamp bags of heroin marked XBOX that were mixed in with the baby diapers, the complaint said.

Police said Fantuzzo failed two field sobriety tests and agreed to have blood drawn to determine if he had alcohol or drugs in his system, police said.

Tony LaRussa is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tony at 724-772-6368, tlarussa@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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