ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A man is in custody after deputies said he attempted to drown a toddler in an Orange County apartment complex pool Monday night.
Deputies said family members jumped into the pool and saved the child, who was transported to Arnold Palmer Hospital in stable condition.
The man, identified as 29-year-old Wilkens Ordena, threw the child into the pool. One of Ordena's relatives jumped into the pool to help the child, but deputies said Ordena also jumped into the pool and put the child in a scissor hold underwater.
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Ordena's relative pried the baby out of the suspect's hands and gave the child to a couple that had stepped outside to help.
"The person that was giving me the child was very urgent about getting the baby away from that area," the woman told Channel 9 on condition that she was not identified. "I didn't know exactly what was going on."
According to deputies, Ordena fled the scene before deputies arrived around 10:30 p.m. Monday, but deputies said he returned while deputies were still at the apartment complex, which is off Apopka Vineland Road and Colonial Drive.
Deputies said Ordena rammed a patrol car and the exit gate of the Lake Sherwood Apartment complex as he tried to flee again.
Deputies said they were able to arrest the man, and that no law enforcement officers were injured during the incident.
Ordena is facing charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a motor vehicle, and fleeing and eluding law enforcement.
A judge denied bond for Ordena on Tuesday afternoon. The judge told Ordena he cannot make contact with anyone involved in the alleged incident, including his own relatives.
Since 2010, Ordena has been arrested seven times in Orange County. At least two of those arrests were domestic violence claims, records show.
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