A man accused of injuring his five-year-old stepson claims he is innocent.
David C. Drakos, 43, of Green River, appeared in the Third District Court Judge Nena James at an arraignment to a felony charge of child abuse.
If David is found guilty of the felony, he could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000. A jury trial has been scheduled to take place May 31 at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, on Jan. 22, 2016, the Green River Police Department received a phone call from Makeila Meadows who stated her brother-in-law, David, had assaulted her five-year-old nephew. Meadows said her nephew is David’s stepson.
Meadows told officers she was at home when she heard muffled screaming and a thudding and banging noise. She went upstairs to check it out and discovered the noise was coming from the bedroom shared by the boy, David, and David’s wife, Jamie.
Meadows said she got to the bedroom and saw David allegedly holding the boy face down on the bed with his hands around the boy’s neck. David was allegedly using his right leg to hold the boy’s legs down. Meadows said the boy’s panicked cries were so muffled she believed the boy couldn’t breathe because David was holding the boy’s face into the blankets so hard. Meadows screamed at David to let the boy go, at that point David did let the child go and he and Meadows argued.
An officer at the scene, photographed the boy’s neck, which had red marks, and a couple of red scratch marks on it.
Officers also interviewed the boy who told them David hurt him when he was laying on his bed he was crying.
On Jan 25, 2016, Jamie Drakos, took her son to the doctor because she was concerned about ear discharge and dots around his eyes. Jamie told her health-care provider child abuse was reported in her home and her son had been pinned down into a blanket by the back of his neck by her husband, David.
On Jan. 26, 2016, a forensic interview was conducted with the boy. He was asked by an officer how he got hurt. The boy told the officer David put his hand over his nose and mouth and he couldn’t breathe. He said David then pushed him on the bed, pinned him down and pushed him into the bed.
The boy said he couldn’t breathe and was crying. David kept asking him “Are you done crying?” The boy said he would keep shaking his head up and down to say yes, but David wouldn’t let him up. The boy said his aunt came into the room and starting yelling at David to let him go. After David let him go and left, she called the cops so they could make sure he was OK.
After the interview was done, the officer looked at the boy’s neck, the officer gently touched the neck and the boy pulled away because it hurt. The officer noticed the boy’s eye were bloodshot and there was a mark on his neck.
Officers listened to and watched a video of David’s phone calls and visits with Jamie since his arrest. During the visit with Jamie, David was verbally abusive toward her and constantly interrupted her when she was trying to talk. David blamed Jamie for what had happened; and told her to take care of things.
Jamie told David he needed to do some soul searching since he cannot go one day without drinking and she didn’t know what to think about the marks she saw on her son.
David yelled at her and told her he would handle it when he got out; and she better get him out or it wasn’t going to be nice.
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