By Jeremy Walsh
At a hearing April 7, a Queens Criminal Court judge conditionally dismissed the case against Klever Sailema, 41, and his girlfriend, 21-year-old Bronx resident Maria Siavichay. The charges will be dropped if the defendants do not get into legal trouble in the next half a year.Sailema and Siavichay faced criminal charges in helping to conspire with the child's father, 27-year-old Bronx resident Carlos Rodas, to abandon Daniella Cosme Perez after they said her 14-year-old mother ran off. They face up to a year in jail if convicted.Rodas fled the Bronx apartment he shared with his sister, Siavichay, and the mother of his child and went into hiding after the incident. Police were still searching for him by press time Tuesday.Sailema initially told police the infant was left in his cab by an unidentified Hispanic man who hailed his cab in Jackson Heights, rode for a few blocks and then fled under the pretense of using a pay phone.After the media circulated photos of Daniella, police received an anonymous tip that led to the Bronx apartment, where police found Siavichay and the baby's mother.Sailema later confessed that he took part in Rodas's plan, police said, but maintained he was trying to do the best thing for the child.Baby Daniella and her mother, identified as Yelemer Cosme Perez were transferred separately to the custody of the Maryland Human Resources Department.Sailema was praised as a hero after the incident. Fernando Mateo, president of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, called Sailema's actions exemplary, and later offered to help support his legal defense.Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jwalsh@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
