BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A mother and father were arrested Wednesday on separate felony charges in connection with an injury to a child, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.
Salazar said the couple was arrested Wednesday without incident at a home in the 10000 block of Rockport Street in southwest Bexar County.
The suspects were identified as Andrea Esmeralda Mena, 26, and Jacobo Jimenez Sanchez, 26, during a news conference.
Mena is facing an endangering a child charge, which is considered a state jail felony. Sanchez has been charged with injury to a child with serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony.
Sanchez and Mena are the child’s biological parents, the sheriff said.
Salazar said the 4-month-old was taken to Children’s Hospital in San Antonio due to consistent vomiting on May 21. Eight days later, the sheriff said the baby was brought back to the hospital due to more vomiting and a bulge on the soft spot of the child’s head, which is described as a bulging fontanelle.
The child also experienced other symptoms such as lethargy, the child’s reflexes were not normal and the baby’s eyes were also beginning to bulge, Salazar said.
Authorities said a CT scan discovered bleeding in the child’s brain. Doctors also noted that the child did not gain any weight between the May 21 and May 29 hospital visits.
Before the child’s May 29 hospital visit, Child Protective Services learned of some domestic violence allegations at the child’s home and began hatching a safety plan for the child.
After discovering the alleged crimes likely occurred in an unincorporated area of Bexar County, Salazar said the San Antonio Police Department transferred the case to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office several days ago.
During the sheriff’s office’s investigation, one of the children interviewed told investigators that they witnessed blood coming from the 4-month-old’s head after Sanchez threw the baby on the floor.
“I didn’t hurt my children,” Mena told reporters before she was taken to a BCSO vehicle Wednesday night. Sanchez did not comment.
Following their interviews with deputies, Sanchez and Mena were booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.
KSAT’s coverage of the news conference can be seen in the above video player.