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Couple arrested, found passed out in car parked in middle of road with 2-year-old in backseat

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An Englewood couple has been arrested after they were found passed out in a car that was parked in the middle of the road, with a toddler in the backseat. 

Matthew McRee, 36, and Christina Mattessino, 30, were found by deputies in a disabled vehicle, blocking northbound lanes of Tamiami Trail in North Port. The vehicle's engine was running and a 2-year-old child was in the backseat. 

McRee told deputies he had fallen asleep at the wheel and didn't know where he was. When deputies searched the vehicle, they found a soda can containing heroin on the floorboard as well as marijuana stuck in the passenger side air vent. When Mattessino got out of the car, deputies located four needles and drug paraphernalia in her purse.

The couple was arrested at the scene and the toddler was released to relatives.

McRee is charged with Child Neglect, DUI, Possession of Heroin, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Narcotics Equipment and Driving with License Suspended. He remains in custody on $44,000 bond. Mattessino faces a single count of Child Neglect and Possession of Narcotics Equipment. She is currently being held on $17,000 bond.

McRee has prior arrests for Armed Burglary, Battery by a Person Detained and various drug charges and this is Mattessino's first arrest in Sarasota County, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.

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