Affidavit: EPPD officer argued with ex-wife on the phone, forgot about infant son in bathtub

A compliant affidavit obtained by ABC-7 states the El Paso Police Officer charged him with Criminal Negligent Homicide for the death of his 11-month-old child was arguing with the baby’s mother at the time the child drowned in a bathtub.

Last week, 27-year-old Raymond Licon Jr. was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility under a $10,000 bond. Online records show he is out on bond.

The officer, a two-year-veteran of the police department assigned to the Central Regional Command, was relieved of duty, police officials said. A spokesman said the officer has not been fired and was merely “stripped of his police powers.”

On Tuesday, June 20, 2017, police and paramedics responded to 3334 Zion, apartment Q9, after the 11-month-old infant, Azrael Ezekiel Licon, was found without signs of life.

Police said the investigation revealed the father, Licon Jr, was giving the child a bath in an upstairs bathroom. The complaint affidavit obtained by ABC-7 states Licon was arguing with his ex-wife, Crystal Montenegro, via text messages.

In one of the text messages, Licon Jr. told Montenegro he was giving the victim a bath, documents state.

The argument then continued via a voice call, documents state.

“In the course of the text messages and voice call, the defendant forgot about the victim, whom he left in the second floor bathtub with the water running,” the affidavit states.

Documents state Licon Jr. argued with his wife on the phone for 45 minutes.

Police said the the overflowing bathtub flooded the apartment, to the extent the water was penetrating through the ceiling into the first floor, the document states.

The father immediately called 911 and began performing CPR. The child was transported to UMC, where he was pronounced dead.

According to the affidavit, Licon Jr, off duty at the time, told investigators he blamed himself for the child’s death.