A Mountain Home man, 21-year-old Andrew William Coon, was arrested Friday after allegedly admitting he was responsible for injuries his three-month-old daughter sustained. The Mountain Home Police Department was notified by McKenzie Jackson, with the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division, about a hotline report advising the infant, whose name has not been released, had several broken bones including fractured ribs and fractures to the arms and legs. Coon faces two felony counts of second-degree battery. He was released Sunday after posting a $25,000 bond.
According to the arrest affidavit, the infant girl was taken into custody by the Department of Human Services, after she was located at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.
A physician’s report says there is no evidence of any medical condition causing or contributing to the fractures, and the type of fractures point to child abuse. In the physician’s opinion, the fractures are a result of a least two episodes of violent trauma.
Lieutenant Eddie Griffin, with the Mountain Home Police Department, requested Coon and the child’s mother come to the department to be interviewed. The mother denied any knowledge of wrongdoing. She did say she would sometimes hear her daughter scream in an unusual way when she was being cared for by her father. She also said she would feel uncomfortable leaving the child in Coon’s care and at one point was told by Coon as they were getting ready to take their daughter to the hospital doing so may not end well.
After Coon was read his rights, he allegedly said he may have used a “little more force than he should have.” In a follow-up interview, the affidavit says Coon indicated he had no doubt he was responsible for his daughter’s broken arms and legs.
Coon is scheduled to appear in Baxter County Circuit Court.
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