Stepdad charged with dangling baby out third-story window; skips court (Wheeling, West Virginia)

Stepdad DAVID A. DALE was charged with dangling his wife's 6-month-old baby from outside a third story window, or one felony count of child abuse. But Stepdad failed to appear in court, resulting in an arrest warrant.

http://www.news-register.net/page/content.detail/id/527436.html

Man Skips Court In Abuse Case
By ART LIMANN
POSTED: August 21, 2009

David A. Dale failed to appear in court as scheduled Thursday, prompting Judge Mark A. Karl to issue an arrest warrant for the man accused of dangling his wife's baby from a third-story window.

Dale, 27, was charged with one felony count of child abuse creating the risk of injury after he allegedly held the 6-month-old girl out the third-story window of their Moundsville apartment.

He was slated to appear before Karl in Marshall County Circuit Court on Thursday.

Dale was indicted in March after witnesses reported seeing the man hold a baby out of the window on Jan. 5. According to Moundsville police Cpl. Steven Kosek, three witnesses told officers Dale held his wife's 6-month-old daughter out the window, asking them if they wanted the "cute baby." All three told police they felt the baby was in danger, Kosek said.

After police consulted with a representative of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, the child was placed in the custody of her great-grandmother.

During an appearance in court July 30, county Assistant Prosecutor Brett Ferro told Karl the state had offered a plea agreement that was to be considered Thursday.

On Thursday, Ferro and Dale's attorney, Jeremiah Gardner, told the court Dale may have moved to Parkersburg.

After having his name called three times by the bailiff, Karl issued the warrant for Dale's arrest, citing his July 30 appearance and his knowledge of the return date.

Dale had been released on $6,500 bond. A condition of that bond was that he was to have no contact with the child in question.

Dale's wife, Jamie Lynn Dale, previously testified at a preliminary hearing in magistrate court that her husband had done nothing wrong.

At that time she said her husband had been playing cards Jan. 5 and that the only time the window in question was opened was when they briefly talked with a man outside.

She said the baby was asleep on the floor the entire time.

She also testified the baby had been looking in a mirror near the window, "but that was hours before anything happened." During cross-examination, she said her husband had been drinking alcohol that day. Kosek said Dale registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.128 percent about one hour after the alleged incident.

Karl is to be notified when Dale is apprehended.