Man pleads guilty to hitting 1-week-old baby and causing a skull fracture
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BLACKFOOT – A 25-year-old man pleaded guilty to hitting his 10-day-old baby and causing a skull fracture.
Kade Michael Jones pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony aggravated battery.
Jones initially pleaded not guilty to felony aggravated battery and a felony enhancement for causing great bodily injury or disability.
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He signed a plea agreement on April 11, agreeing to plead guilty to the felony charge in return for the prosecution dropping the enhancement.
The plea agreement also states that the prosecution will recommend no more than a minimum of six years in prison at sentencing. They will be free to argue for whatever amount of maximum time.
Jones is scheduled to be sentenced on June 11 in front of District Judge Bruce Pickett. The plea agreement is not binding on the court, meaning Pickett does not have to agree to either party’s recommendations for sentencing.
Background
On May 11, a Bingham County Sheriff’s detective learned of a 1-week-old baby at Community Hospital in Idaho Falls who was suffering from a skull fracture, bruising and swelling.
According to police reports, the baby was flown to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. Her current condition is unknown.
The detective talked to the baby’s doctor, who said the parents, Jones and his wife, told him “the only thing they could think of that may have caused this injury was their 2-year-old daughter kicked (the baby) in the head when she was getting off the couch.”
Court documents indicate the doctor was not convinced the 2-year-old caused the injury.
When the detective arrived at the hospital in Salt Lake City, he spoke with the parents, who repeated the same story. The detective noticed the baby also had a “larger swollen area on the right side of the skull above the ear.”
According to Jones, he had noticed the swollen area a few days before, but the parents waited to take the baby to the doctor until a regular check-up. The check-up ultimately led to them taking the baby to the hospital.
Jones was later interviewed again and admitted to laying the baby on the floor to change her diaper while she was crying. He told detectives it was “possibly a sensory overload, and he slapped her on the side of her head with his right hand.”
Jones told law enforcement he hit the baby “harder than he wanted to” and that it was out of a second of anger.
He stated he finished changing the baby’s diaper, and the baby was still crying, but he didn’t see any bruising.
A warrant was issued for Jones’ arrest on May 24, and he was booked into the Bingham County Jail the same day with a bond of $250,000.
A no-contact order was issued for the victim, and his bond was later reduced to $50,000, which he paid. Jones was released to pre-trial supervision on June 8.