Man pleads guilty to abusing infant

One man pleaded guilty to a single count of attempted child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily or mental harm last week.

Antonio Raul Armendariz, 24, faced a number of charges because he allegedly injured an infant by hitting the child against a dresser and squeezing the child’s head. He appeared in District Court last week to enter his plea to the category B felony charge.

Deputy District Attorney Patrick Ferguson told the court Armendariz had allegedly inflicted the abuse on the small child sometime between when the baby was born on Nov. 1, 2012 and Oct. 10 of this year.

“Between approximately Nov. 1, 2012 and Oct. 10, 2013, the defendant did slam the child, born Nov. 1, 2012, into a dresser injuring the child’s ribs and squeezed the child’s head with his hands until it made a popping sound, inflicting substantial bodily harm on the child,” the prosecutor said.

Defense attorney Jason Earnest noted that a report from a children’s hospital in California showed the victim had suffered injuries to the ribs and skull as a result.

The attorney added that although these types of cases are always difficult, his client was remorseful about what he had done and had admitted to the alleged abuse and was now taking responsibility for his actions.

“Judge, there were old injuries, he was charged with two counts of two to 20. We got the report from the San Diego Children’s Hospital that shows healing ribs along with fractured ribs and a healing as well as fractured skull injury. My client, and this is always a difficult case, has admitted to the injuries he created,” he said.

For the charge of attempted child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily or mental harm, Armendariz could face up to 10 years in prison at the time of sentencing.

Armendariz is scheduled to be back in District Court for sentencing in the matter on March 28.