Dad arraigned on murder charge for kicking 4-month-old baby to death (Bakersfield, California)

In my humble opinion, dads with histories of assault and battery should not be allowed around children.

Dad is identified as STEPHON JONES SR.

http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x720482143/Reports-Father-shook-kicked-4-month-old-who-later-died

Friday, May 08 2015 12:45 PM

Reports: Father shook, kicked 4-month-old who later died
By Felix Adamo / The Californian

Stepfon Jones is arraigned on a murder charge in the death of a 4-month-old child.

BY JASON KOTOWSKI The Bakersfield Californian

The father of a 4-month-old who died last month shook and kicked the baby because he was angry he wouldn't stop crying, according to court filings.

Stepfon Jones Sr. is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the baby's death and has been held without bail since his arrest April 26. The coroner's office has said the death of his son, Stepfon Jones Jr., was a result of blunt force trauma and is a homicide.

Police responded to an apartment at 9:23 p.m. April 25 in the 1900 block of California Avenue for a report of a baby not breathing. They found Jones' girlfriend, who is also the baby's mother, performing CPR on the boy.

The baby was taken to Mercy Hospital and pronounced dead an hour later.

Investigators questioned the girlfriend about a bruise they noticed on the child's forehead, according to police reports recently filed in court. The girlfriend said she accidentally struck the boy's head on a support pole while taking him out of his crib.

Her statements didn't match the boy's injuries and, upon further questioning, the girlfriend said 20-year-old Stepfon Jones Sr. assaulted the child.

The reports say she told investigators Jones was angry over the boy's crying. He picked the baby up and "violently shook him," she told police.

She said Jones smacked the boy's head against his crib swing and threw him to the ground. He then kicked the child, according to her statements to investigators.

The girlfriend said the baby stopped crying and became lethargic. He eventually stopped breathing, and she called 911.

In May of last year, Jones pleaded no contest to battery and causing pain, suffering or injury to an elder or dependent adult. Court records say he was sentenced to 40 days in jail and three years' probation.

Jones is next scheduled to appear in court May 15.