A man was in custody Thursday in connection with the death of his son, who was found unresponsive at a motel in the south Los Angeles area.
Shane Flowers, 23, was arrested Wednesday afternoon and booked on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was being held on $100,000 bail, the sheriff’s department reported.
Officers were sent to the 5600 block of South Western Avenue about 11:10 a.m. Tuesday, according to the LAPD, which revealed few details of the investigation.
The boy, 17-month-old Dee’ago Alexander Jones, was found unconscious and not breathing at the Rosa Bell Motel. The toddler died at a hospital.
Following the death, authorities began looking for the boy’s father as a person of interest in the investigation.
The boy’s mother, Ryanna Jones, told ABC7 she didn’t know why Flowers “would run from this situation and just leave us there, and not come back.”
“He didn’t even call to make sure her was even alive or OK,” Jones told the station. “I just want him put away. I want him to get caught.”
She said the family of three was living at the motel as part of a shelter program for homeless families with children.
Jones told KTLA5 that Flowers confessed to punching the boy after tripping over a video game controller. The child fell down, hit his head and lost consciousness.
“He told me that he didn’t think he hit him that hard for him to pass away,” Jones told the station. “And I kept telling him, stop hitting my son. And every time I told him to stop, I got the outcome. I was getting beat up.”