A 3-month-old boy died Monday of injuries allegedly inflicted by his 20-year-old father, police said.
Jordan Mendez was arrested after officers were dispatched at 8:42 p.m. Friday on a baby-not-breathing call in the 800 block of West Stevens Avenue, according to Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
Officers confirmed Tristan Cota La Verne Mendez wasn’t breathing and, along with Orange County Fire Authority personnel, performed CPR on the infant before taking him to Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Bertagna said.
The baby was placed on life support so the organs could be donated and a Baptism could be done, Bertagna said. The boy was pronounced dead this afternoon while on life support, he said.
Hospital staff found signs of physical trauma on the child, who was placed on life support, according to Bertagna, who said an autopsy is scheduled to be performed Tuesday.
Homicide detectives arrested the infant’s father on suspicion of assault on a child resulting in great bodily injury or death and booked him into the Santa Ana Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
Mendez, who is being held in lieu of $1 million bail, had been the subject of an arrest warrant after being declared a fugitive in an identity theft case filed April 2 of last year. The arrest warrant was issued Nov. 7. He is expected to appear in court in connection with that warrant Tuesday.
— City News Service