Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Dad charged with breaking arm of 4-month-old son (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Dad is identified as JONATHAN FARINA.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20130917/NEWS02/309170034/Indianapolis-father-accused-breaking-4-month-old-son-s-arm

Indianapolis father accused of breaking 4-month-old son's arm

Sep. 17, 2013 11:45 AM

Written by Bill McCleery

A 40-year-old Indianapolis man faces a preliminary battery charge, police say, after he broke the arm of his 4-month-old son in August.

Jonathan Farina turned himself into authorities Sunday after a warrant was issued for his arrest, according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report.

The child sustained the injury sometime between the evenings of Aug. 16 and Aug. 17 while in Farina’s care, the report said.

Farina took the child Aug. 17 to Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, where an examination revealed the broken arm.

The father’s explanations for how the child’s arm might have been broken do not hold weight with investigators, police told other family members of the child.

Police reports do not give insight into the father’s version of events. A message left at a number listed in a recent public document as belonging to Farina was not immediately returned.

The child’s mother, Alyse Burl, 20, said that her son, now 5 months old, is doing well and that his injury is not expected to cause long-term issues.

Burl declined to answer questions about the incident, citing the advice of an IMPD detective. She is no longer in regular contact with the baby’s father, she said.

Farina faces a preliminary charge of battery causing injury.

In 2011, Farina was arrested on a preliminary charge of dealing marijuana and possessing marijuana. He later pleaded guilty in Marion Superior Court to the possession charge and had the dealing charge dismissed, according to court records.