GLENS FALLS -- A Glens Falls man was charged with felony assault early Tuesday after his 15-month-old son suffered severe head injuries that left him in critical condition, police said.
The boy was taken to Albany Medical Center via helicopter for treatment of a head injury that police allege was caused by his father, Gary L. Waite, 28, of Orville Street.
Waite was charged with second-degree assault, a felony, but the case could result in homicide charges if the child does not survive, authorities said.
Court records show Waite gave police a variety of explanations of what happened to the boy Monday afternoon in his apartment.
His final version was that the toddler fell twice during the day, and when Waite was frustrated that the child would not stop crying after one of the falls, he threw the boy onto a couch but he bounced off and landed on his head, according to court records.
“I got frustrated and I tossed Jesse to the other end of the couch and he bounced off the couch, falling onto the hardwood floor,” Waite is quoted as telling Glens Falls Police.
Records also showed Waite called a relative who went to the home before anyone called 911 to seek help for the boy.
“I did not call 911 before my sister came because the police would not have understood me,” he is quoted as saying.
Glens Falls Police Detective Sgt. Peter Casertino said the child was in critical condition early Tuesday after surgery.
It was unclear if the boy would survive the injuries, Casertino said.
The boy’s aunt, Tina Goodell, said doctors have told the family there was a 5 percent chance that the boy, Jesse Smith, would recover.
Court records show the child suffered two skull fractures and a brain injury.
Police were called to Waite’s 3 Orville St., apartment 4 home at 6:20 p.m. Monday for a report of a child who was unresponsive, Casertino said.
The child’s mother, Lisa Smith, also known as Lisa Younes, lives in Hudson Falls. The couple have joint custody, and Waite had the boy at his house since Saturday, according to court records. Court records show Waite had the child four days a week, Smith for three days.
Goodell said the mother had concerns about past injuries suffered by Jesse that she believed were inflicted by Waite, and had reported them to Child Protective Services.
It was unclear in which county the agency was called, but Goodell said the mother’s efforts resulted in a request in Family Court to change the terms of custody.
There were no abuse or neglect complaints or custody modification petitions filed about the child in Washington County Family Court, however.
Statements filed in City Court show that Waite initially told Casertino, Glens Falls Police Detective Sgt. Paul Frettoloso and Police Officer Kyle Diamond that Jesse fell off a couch on his own, then later in the day fell and hit his face on the metal legs of a chair.
He said the child “is top heavy and falls sometimes.”
At some point later in the questioning, though, he added that he had thrown the boy on a couch and that he “bounced off,” the statements show.
After that incident, the boy fell and hit his face on the chair legs, Waite told police.
“I saw his eyes were rolling back in his head and he was gasping for air,” Waite told police, according to the statements. “He was bleeding bad from his mouth area.”
He also told police he would not harm a child.
“I’ve beat up people who beat up kids,” he told police.
Waite is a registered sex offender because of a 2003 misdemeanor sexual misconduct conviction in Queensbury Town Court. He was sentenced to 6 years on probation in that case.
He was charged with second-degree assault, a felony, under a section of law that alleges an adult “recklessly” caused serious physical injury to a child when intending to injure the child, and police said additional charges were likely.
Homicide charges are likely if the boy does not survive, officials said.
Waite was arraigned in City Court and sent to Warren County Jail for lack of $100,000 cash bail or $200,000 bail bond. He is due back in court Feb. 28.
His lawyer, Michael Mercure, said he had no comment on the case as of late Tuesday.
The State Police major crimes unit and forensic identification unit assisted Glens Falls Police with the case.
Happy Memorial Day.
- blapier
on Feb. 14, 2012 at 9:10 PM