Teen Dad Accused of Biting Infant Son Pleads Not Guilty in Monday Court

By Bay City News

A Fairfield father accused of biting off part of his infant son's nose because he would not stop crying pleaded not guilty Monday to felony aggravated mayhem and child endangerment charges, according to the Solano County district attorney's office.

Joshua Cooper, 18, of Fairfield, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on April in Solano County Superior Court.

He is being held under $765,000 bail in the Solano County jail. Cooper is charged with one count of aggravated mayhem and two counts of willful child endangerment likely to produce great bodily harm or death, district attorney's office spokeswoman Monica Martinez said.

He also is charged with an allegation of inflicting great bodily harm on a child under age five, Martinez said.

Fairfield police said a hysterical female called them around 8:10 a.m. Thursday and said her infant child was bleeding from the head, Sgt. Troy Oviatt said.

Police found a one-month-old boy bleeding from the face in the apartment in the 1000 block of Alaska Avenue.

The boy's 17-year-old mother and other family members were present, Oviatt said.

The infant was taken to the NorthBay Medical Center where it was determined his nose had been severed and the child had possible head trauma, Oviatt said.

The boy was then taken to Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland. Doctors there said the boy suffered a skull fracture, a brain hemorrhage and one-third of his nose had been severed.

The investigation determined Cooper bit off the boy's nose out of frustration from the infant crying, Oviatt said. Police are still investigating how the other injuries occurred.

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