Austin Teacher Arrested in Miami Beach After Autistic Foster Child Found Running Through Traffic

Francisco Javier Lara, 55, an Austin-based elementary school teacher, was taken into custody Thursday in Miami Beach following an incident in which his 12-year-old foster son with autism was discovered running in and out of traffic near 33rd Street and Pinetree Drive. The incident occurred at approximately 12:15 p.m., with the child wearing only a white T-shirt and underwear at the time officers located him. Lara now faces two counts of child neglect without great bodily harm.

Officers responding to reports of a child in traffic safely secured the boy before he entered a residence in the 3000 block of Pinetree Drive. The child provided police with a phone number that led detectives to Lara’s location at the Catalina Hotel on Collins Avenue, where investigators discovered a second foster child—a 10-year-old nonverbal boy also with autism—left alone in the hotel room. Both children were subsequently transferred to custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

According to the arrest report, Lara told detectives he had traveled to Miami Beach from Texas on vacation and claimed to have put both children to bed around 9 p.m. Wednesday before leaving the hotel near midnight to visit a Mexican restaurant and consume alcoholic beverages. He stated he drank four to five drinks at the restaurant and two additional beverages at another bar before returning to the hotel around 4 a.m., where he said he fell asleep.

Hotel surveillance footage contradicted Lara’s account, showing him returning at 5:10 a.m., departing at 9:03 a.m., and returning again at 10:29 a.m. Officers noted a strong odor of alcohol on Lara’s breath and observed he appeared disoriented, believing the time was approximately 7 a.m. when it was actually around 2 p.m. Lara acknowledged consuming excessive alcohol and admitted he had no recollection of his movements after returning to the hotel.

As of Friday afternoon, Lara was detained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $2,000 bond. Employment verification confirmed he worked as an elementary school teacher for Miami-Dade County Public Schools the previous year before relocating to Texas.