Bail was set Thursday at $1.53 million for a Compton man charged with attempted murder for allegedly beating his girlfriend’s 13-month- old son.
Rodrigo Hernandez, 23, is also charged with assault on a child becoming comatose and he faces a special allegation of inflicting great bodily injury on a person under age 5.
Hernandez pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment in Compton and he is due back in court June 30, when a date will be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial, according to Sarah Ardalani of the District Attorney’s Office.
Authorities say Hernandez was watching the infant Sunday while the boy’s mother was in another room of her apartment. Family members subsequently told the woman that her child was behaving strangely, according to prosecutors.
“When the mother went to the child, the boy began to have seizures,” according to the District Attorney’s Office. “Additionally, bruising started to develop on his body.”
Paramedics took the toddler to a hospital, where he continues to receive medical treatment, prosecutors said.
If convicted as charged, Hernandez faces a maximum life prison sentence.
—City News Service