Fort Edward man charged with assault after allegedly shaking baby UPDATE Gets 15 yrs

[MedicCook]

Man charged with assault after allegedly shaking baby

FORT EDWARD -- A 33-year-old father was charged with felony assault Sunday night for allegedly shaking his 3-month-old to the point he suffered severe head injuries, police said.

Robert W. Tucker Sr., of 6A Liberty St. told police he shook the baby because he would not take a bottle, and admitted he had shaken him numerous times in the past when he would not stop crying, according to court records.

"I snapped," police quoted Tucker as saying in a typewritten affidavit.

He told police he had shaken the child on earlier occasions, and he believes the child has been suffering from shaken baby syndrome, based on a video he saw about the condition at Glens Falls Hospital after the child was born, court records allege.

The baby, Robert W. Tucker Jr., was taken to Albany Medical Center via helicopter and had surgery that removed 40 cubic centimeters of blood from his skull, Fort Edward Police Chief Walt Sandford said.

His condition was not released by the hospital, but Sandford said he was "stable" as of Monday afternoon

Tucker was charged with first-degree assault, and the chief said the charge could be upgraded to a homicide count if the baby dies. Tucker was sent to Washington County Jail for lack of bail.

http://www.poststar.com/articles/2006/12/11/news/doc457dba38f1e8b033848810.txt

[Ashley]

wtf?

[MedicCook]

Man gets 15 years in baby shaking incident

FORT EDWARD -- The Fort Edward father who shook and seriously injured his infant son last December tearfully apologized Friday, telling a Washington County judge that he is "not the monster I'm being made out to be."

Robert W. Tucker Sr. told Judge Kelly McKeighan he was "very remorseful" for hurting his then-3-month-old son by shaking him. He called himself "a very good person who made a very bad decision" and apologized to his family.

"Most of all, I'm sorry to my son for putting him through all of this," Tucker, a stocky man with a military haircut, said.

He told McKeighan he cooperated with police the night the boy was hurt because he wanted to make sure he got the proper treatment for his injuries. He also said he never got to apologize to his son at the hospital Dec. 10, the day he was injured.

McKeighan, though, rejected Tucker's plea for mercy, pointing out that the baby and another of his children had suffered prior injuries. He imposed a 15-year prison sentenced, to be followed by 5 years on parole.

"If you have any conscience at all, you've created your own special hell," the judge told him. "You'll have 15 years to think about it."

Tucker's emotional address came after the baby's maternal grandmother, who has custody of the infant, read a victims impact statement to McKeighan in which she told of the extensive medical procedures the baby, Robert W. Tucker Jr., has endured since he was hurt in December.

The woman, Lorrie Hansen of Middle Falls, told the judge of the boy's pain and cries as he endured the procedures to drain blood from his skull. They presented the judge with pictures of the baby with much of his head stitched to close incisions from his procedures.

"I love my grandson with all my heart and as I stand here today no one will ever hurt him again," Hansen read.

She asked for the maximum sentence, though the 15-year prison term McKeighan imposed was part of a plea deal for a guilty plea to first-degree assault.

Washington County District Attorney Kevin Kortright pointed out that Robert Tucker Sr. had been shown a video at Glens Falls Hospital after his son's birth about the dangers of shaking babies.

Tucker was arrested hours after his son was taken to Glens Falls Hospital via ambulance for breathing problems.

Doctors determined he had a head injury and believed it was from being repeatedly shaken, and there were concerns he might not survive.

"He has possibly destroyed this child's life," Kortright said.

He was hospitalized for several weeks and has had at least two procedures to have blood drained from his skull.

After the sentencing, Hansen and the baby's maternal great-grandmother, Ruth Brundige of Johnsonville, said the boy is doing well but it will not be known until he is 3 or 4 whether he will have developmental problems from being shaken.

"He's been through a terrible, terrible thing, but he's still a happy, happy little boy," she said.

Tucker will have to serve more than 13 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/03/24/news/latest/doc46047966eaf58550130171.txt