A 20-year-old man was charged Friday in connection with the death of a 5-year-old boy whose body was found in or near a trash bin in Panorama City.
Brycson Malik Gaddis, described as the ex-boyfriend of the victim’s mother, is set to be arraigned Aug. 18 in a Van Nuys courtroom on one count each of murder and assault on a child causing death.
He was ordered to remain jailed in lieu of $2 million bail.
Gaddis was arrested Wednesday by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Station, according to police.
A second person, who has not been identified, was arrested on unrelated charges, police said.
Gaddis was one of five people detained following the discovery of the child’s body, which was found about 7 a.m. Saturday in a parking lot in the 8200 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, just south of Roscoe Boulevard. Police identified the boy Wednesday as Elyjiah Hearn.
According to prosecutors, Gaddis allegedly beat the child to death last Friday in an apartment in the 14500 block of Lanark Street in Panorama City. Police said Gaddis is not the boy’s biological father.
Troy Hearn Sr., identified by the Los Angeles Times as the boy’s grandfather, told the newspaper that Gaddis is the ex-boyfriend of the child’s mother. Hearn said the boy’s mother was among the five people questioned by police, but she was ultimately released. Hearn said Gaddis had been stalking the boy’s mother, and he kidnapped the boy and his mother and forced them into an apartment complex near the location where the boy’s body was ultimately found.
“It’s very heartbreaking for him to do that to my 5-year-old grandson,” Hearn told The Times. “I’m identifying the body this afternoon. I’m overwhelmed and so angry that I can’t even explain it. This guy is a bad guy and it’s lucky that the police has him.”
A law enforcement source told the newspaper that the boy suffered “massive injuries,” including a broken jaw, fractured ribs and a lacerated liver. An official cause of the boy’s death has not been released.
Detectives with the LAPD’s Abused Child Unit were leading the investigation.
Police said a tip from the public led them Tuesday to the apartment complex on Lanark Street.
“Around 9:30 p.m., a search warrant was served at one unit — two adults (one male, one female) were detained, and two children were at the unit.”
A vigil for the young victim was taking place as police arrived at the apartment complex, less than a half-mile from where the boy’s body was found.
Then at around 1 a.m. Wednesday, LAPD personnel detained two more men and a woman near Sunset Boulevard and Ivar Avenue in Hollywood, police said.
All five adults were taken in for questioning, and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services took custody of the two children, police said.
“This is truly a heartbreaking and horrific case, and our deepest sympathies go out to the young victim’s family,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement released shortly after the charges were filed against Gaddis. “We are committed to seeking justice and will ensure this defendant is held responsible for his actions.”
Gaddis could face a potential maximum state prison sentence of 25 years to life if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney’s Office.