Austin police arrest man accused of severely injuring 4-month-old infant
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police arrested a man Wednesday who is accused of physically abusing his four-month-old child.
On June 13 at 9:25 p.m. officers responded to a Budget Inn at Interstate Highway 35 and East Rundberg Lane in north Austin.
The suspect, 30-year-old John Joe Ramirez, told medics he and his child fell asleep on the bed. He said he woke up to the sound of his child falling off the bed and hitting the floor. Ramirez told police he found the baby on the floor face down and unconscious.
He told police he splashed water in the baby’s face and shook him to wake him up but nothing worked.
The infant was taken to Dell Children’s Hospital. According to hospital staff, the injuries the baby sustained could not have been caused by simply falling off a bed. The baby underwent a CT can, an MRI scan and a skeletal survey to determine the extent of the injuries.
According to doctors, the baby suffered a multitude of injuries including various bone fractures, hemorrhaging, lacerations, bruising and rib fractures.
Ramirez later told police he accidentally knocked over a car seat with the baby seated inside. When police asked Ramirez if that accounted for the infant’s broken ribs he replied with, “I didn’t stomp on him.”
Ramirez told police he was homeless and asked the baby’s mother to pay for the hotel room so he could watch the child while she was at work. Ramirez said he received a call from his mother telling him the baby’s mother and the baby were at a house where drugs were being used.
According to Ramirez, he went to the home to pick up the child and returned to the hotel room. He said he did not notice anything wrong with the child at that time. The baby’s mother said she was hesitant to hand over the child since Ramirez was acting very angry. She said Ramirez and the child did not have a good relationship.
Based on testimony from doctors at Dell Children’s Hospital stating the account of the baby falling off the bed and the extent of the injuries police arrested Ramirez and he is being charged with injury to a child. He faces a bond of $100,000.