Man charged with assaulting infant
WAYNESBURG – An infant was found unresponsive inside a Franklin Township home last week after state police said the boy was shaken by his father and stopped breathing.
Police said Trent Alexander Buchanan, 23, of 126 4th St., was watching his 3-month-old son, Cameron, at his home Nov. 10 when he allegedly shook and struck the boy, causing brain injuries and a fracture to the child’s skull, among other injuries.
The boy was taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., for treatment, state police said. His condition was not known Monday and a hospital spokeswoman said he was not listed as a patient there.
Police said they were alerted to the incident Nov. 11 and went to the hospital in Morgantown, where doctors said the injuries were “nonaccidental” and “consistent with … shaken baby syndrome.” Doctors told troopers testing showed the boy suffered brain injuries.
The boy’s mother, Cori Scott, 25, told investigators she left Cameron with Buchanan about 10 p.m. Nov. 10 while she visited a friend and went to the grocery store to return a movie. Buchanan called Scott while she was gone, telling her their son was not breathing and that she needed to return home immediately, police said.
When she arrived home, she found Cameron lying on the couch and not breathing. She called 911 and emergency dispatchers told her how to perform CPR on the baby. The baby was then taken by ambulance to the hospital.
During an interview with troopers at the hospital, Buchanan told them he was feeding the child with a bottle when the boy began choking, according to court documents. Buchanan said he then picked up the boy, shook him and then struck his back and head in an attempt to get him to begin breathing again.
Police said Buchanan’s actions could not explain the severity of the injuries to the boy. Police on Monday charged Buchanan with aggravated assault, child endangerment, simple assault and reckless endangerment.
Troopers interviewed Buchanan again Monday afternoon at the state police barracks in Franklin Township and arrested him on the charges. He was arraigned by District Judge Glenn Bates and taken to Greene County jail on $25,000 bond.
His preliminary hearing before Bates is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 24 at 9:15 a.m.