Young Las Cruces father facing additional charge; abused infant twins, police say
The 18-year-old man accused of deliberately injuring his two-month-old son, Jace, now faces an additional charge of Child Abuse for allegedly breaking the baby’s twin brother’s clavicle, Las Cruces Police said.
Last week, Christopher Jacquez, of the 9500 block of Butterfield Boulevard, was charged with two counts of “Child Abuse Resulting in Great Bodily Harm.”
Police were dispatched to a medical call involving an infant at a home on the 4100 block of Mojave Drive on Monday, Feb. 13. Baby Jace was initially taken by ambulance to Mountainview Regional Medical Center and later airlifted to El Paso Children’s Hospital.
A criminal complaint obtained by ABC-7’s New Mexico Mobile Newsroom states Jacquez got up to feed the baby. The baby’s mother then heard Jacquez and Jacquez’s mother “freaking out.” The baby’s mother told police she saw Jace lying on the bed “completely limp.” She said she thought the baby was dead.
Doctors told detectives Jace was suffering from three fractured ribs and multiple subdural hemorrhages. Detectives interviewed the boy’s parents and learned the boy’s injuries allegedly occurred at the hands of his father. Jacquez allegedly told detectives he violently shook the infant on at least two separate occasions.
On Feb. 13, police responded to another call of an infant having a hard time breathing. The baby’s mother told police Baby Jace went limp moments after Jacquez sat on the couch with the boy.
On Feb. 17, doctor’s at El Paso Children’s Hospital told detectives the victim’s twin brother, Logan, had sustained a broken clavicle. Police officials said an investigation revealed Jacquez caused Logan’s injuries by “squeezing the infant too hard.”
Jacquez was arrested Feb. 17 and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center, where he’s currently being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond.
The court document states a weeping Jacquez told detectives, “I would hold them close to me. I would never shake them.”
When asked if he hurt the babies, Jacquez allegedly replied “I don’t know.”
