Documents: Las Cruces man charged with child abuse after weekend incident

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A 31-year-old Las Cruces man is accused of negligently abusing a child, causing death or serious bodily injury, according to court documents obtained by KTSM.

Joseph Isaiah Parra, 31, was arrested in connection with a five-month-old boy who was found unconscious and on a ventilator over the weekend, court documents show.

According to court documents, it is unclear at this time whether the child has already died.

On Sunday, July 7, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Dona Ana County Sheriff’s officials were contacted regarding a child who was unresponsive and not breathing at a home in the 8700 block of North Valley Drive in Las Cruces.

According to court documents, the grandparents put the injured child in a vehicle and drove off to get medical attention.

Parra, who was later identified as a suspect in the incident, remained at the family home.

Officers stopped the grandparents’ vehicle. The child was resuscitated and then taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

When the child’s mother arrived home, she was heard saying that Parra was drunk and killed the child, according to court documents.

Parra referred to the injured child as one of his sons during his interview with officers. Otherwise, his relationship with the child was not explained.

According to court documents, the grandfather also told officers that the child had a bruise above his left eye and a “mark” on the right side of his torso.

When officers spoke to Parra, his speech was slurred and he had difficulty finding the right words, court documents show.

According to court documents, the suspect also gave conflicting information about where the child was when he found him unconscious.

When the suspect was taken to the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office headquarters, a “distinct odor of alcohol” could be detected on his breath and body, according to court documents.

The injured child’s mother, who was at work at the time of the incident, said Parra uses THC and drinks alcohol. She also told officers that she received a call from Parra around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday saying the baby was not breathing.

She told officers she told Parra to call 911, to which he responded, “Call 911 immediately?”, court documents state.

The mother also said that the child had no bruises when she went to work that morning.

The child was born 28 weeks premature, but according to court documents, there were currently no diagnosed illnesses.

According to court documents, the mother also said that an alcohol-related incident occurred two weeks earlier in which Parra was arrested for domestic violence.

Because the child was unresponsive, medical personnel advised the mother that there was a possible brain injury. According to court documents, the child underwent additional medical tests to determine the extent of his injuries.

Meanwhile, Parra was read his Miranda rights and waived his right to an attorney.

According to court documents, Parra made inconsistent statements throughout the interview and was unable to provide a “reasonable timeline of events.”

Parra initially denied drinking, but later changed his statement and said he had drunk two glasses of tequila around 10 a.m.

After changing the diapers of the other children in the house, Parra went to change the injured child and found him to be “lifeless.”

He said he began “tapping” the injured child to get a response and then called both the child’s mother and grandparents before calling 911, court documents show.

During the entire interrogation with the officers, Parra had to be told the child’s condition several times.

“When it was mentioned that (the child) may have fallen out of bed, (Parra) immediately stated that he would never touch his sons,” court documents say.

He also told MPs that he thought it was normal for a five-month-old baby to lie quietly in bed for an hour and a half or more.

A search of the home found 11 mostly or completely drunk tequila bodies of varying sizes, most of them hidden in trash cans under used diapers, court documents show.

THC wax, bongs and a large torch lighter were also found.