Dad jumps off 2nd-story balcony with 11-month-old baby; charged with misdemeanor (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Dad is identified as ZELIG PICKERING.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/17/zelig-pickering-jumps-from-balcony_n_5501486.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

Man Jumps From Balcony With Baby On Father's Day: Cops

The Huffington Post | By Carla Herreria
Posted: 06/17/2014 8:36 am EDT Updated: 06/17/2014 8:59 am EDT

A 35-year-old man faces criminal charges after allegedly jumping from the balcony of a second-story Honolulu apartment building on Father's Day while holding an 11-month-old baby.

Zelig Pickering, who is believed to be the father of the baby, was charged Monday with endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Responders were on the scene Sunday after receiving reports of a baby crying on the second-floor balcony of the three-story apartment building, according to KHON2. After authorities tried knocking on the front door of the apartment, witnesses say they saw Pickering on the balcony holding the baby.

"He was up there and he straddled that wall," Darrel Aki, a witness and local resident, told KHON2. "When he straddled that wall, he jumped down and I guess he was trying to land on [the wall below]... He hit that wall and then he fell [on his back] with the baby."

After jumping, witnesses said Pickering left the baby on the floor and ran away, according to Hawaii News Now. Several witnesses chased after him and held him down until police arrived.

Pickering was taken to the hospital in serious condition. The baby was miraculously unharmed in the fall.

A neighbor told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that Pickering had only recently moved into the apartment building with his wife and baby.

He was initially arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault -- a felony -- but because the baby was not injured, he was charged with the misdemeanor instead. At this time, it is unclear why Pickering chose to run away from authorities instead of answering their calls at his front door.