LAKE HAVASU CITY — An 18-month prison term has been ordered for a young Lake Havasu City father who pleaded guilty in a child abuse case involving his three-week-old son. Mohave County Superior Court judge Megan McCoy’s December 19 sentencing decision in the case against Donavin Maxson, 23, rejected defense attorney Gregory Pridham’s request for probation and no further jail time.
Investigation began in late August, when local officers were summoned to the local hospital because of Maxson’s aggressive behavior and his infant’s suspicious injuries, according to the Lake Havasu City police department.
Pridham said the criminal case against his client is the result of Maxson’s ignorance of how to properly “treat his child.” Pridham said Maxson would use probation time to utilize resources to learn how to become a better father.
Deputy county attorney James Gilmore urged a prison sentence, or jail time should probation be ordered. He said harming a vulnerable infant warrants substantial incarceration.
A lengthy police report said the baby suffered bruising about his face, arms, neck, an ear, an ankle and his back. It also said the boy suffered lower extremity fractures, cuts on his hands, abrasions by both nostrils and redness in both eyes, associated with hemorrhaging.
Judge McCoy said the nature of the victim’s injuries, Maxson’s extensive juvenile criminal history and an assessment that he was a poor candidate for probation were factors in her decision to order a 1.5-year prison term.
