LAKE HAVASU — A 5-year prison sentence was ordered Wednesday for a Lake Havasu City man who pleaded guilty to the abuse of his infant son. The 16-month old boy was rushed to emergency care when discovered to be not breathing on May 3, 2024 at a residence in the 2700 block of Daytona Avenue.
Defense attorney Bob Heieck continued emphasizing medical expert analysis involving the victim’s premature birth and the possibility that natural health challenges, rather than physical abuse, explain why the child sustained injuries he’ll be dealing with throughout his life.
“D.E. is epileptic,” Heick said of the victim. “He’s been epileptic since birth.
Heieck said his client has no previous legal history and he asked the Court to impose a two-year prison sentence, the minimum possible punishment under terms of the plea agreement for Anthony Eldridge, 31.
Prosecutor Amanda Claerhout said witnesses and other evidence indicate that Eldridge was an uncaring father. She also noted that Eldridge admitted lifting the infant by his swaddle before releasing his grip and dropping the baby on a couch, prompting a safety warning from a witness.
Mohave County Superior Court judge Derek Carlisle referenced the swaddle drop admission as reckless behavior, rather than an intentional action of harm.
While unwilling to label the Eldridge matter as what used to be called a “shaken baby” case, Carlisle also reiterated Claerhout’s factual basis statement regarding medical conclusion that brain hemorrhaging and seizures suffered by the victim were consistent with rapid acceleration and deceleration movement.
Carlisle said it is reasonable to conclude that swaddle dropping the victim by Eldridge likely exacerbated any of the boy’s preexisting medical conditions. Carlisle credited the defendant with 428 days spent in custody, shortening his prison sentence to less than four years.
