DENVER – A Navajo man who is charged with seriously injuring his 9-month-old daughter has failed to persuade the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals that he should be allowed to seek bail pending trial in New Mexico.
Eric Begay, of Pine Hill, N.M. was arrested by the FBI on charges of assault resulting in serious physical injury after an investigation involving the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations and Ramah Navajo Police Department as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“Medical examinations determined that she had untreated injuries, some of which dated back as much as three months, including fractures to both arms, both legs, her ribs and her skull, and she was suffering from a ruptured left eye,” said an FBI press release.
The infant was brought to the Ramah Clinic by her parents and was taken to the Gallup Indian Navajo Clinic and then to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where Begay was arrested Dec. 10, 2008.
A magistrate judge in New Mexico placed Begay on supervised release at a halfway house, but the government appealed the detention decision to the district court, where a grand jury returned a four-count indictment against Begay. The district court then ordered him detained pending trial.
According to the district court, Begay admitted causing the injuries over time. His history included a juvenile conviction, two adult convictions, and evidence of domestic abuse, leading the court to conclude there were no conditions of release that would “reasonably assure the safety of the community.”
“Mr. Begay admitted to law enforcement agents that at various times when he was frustrated while caring for his daughter he would twist his daughter’s limbs and that on one occasion he heard a ‘pop,’” according to the appellate court filing, which also contained graphic details about the injury to the infant’s eye.
At the time of the offenses, he was on probation related to a 2007 conviction in an Arizona district court and had an earlier probation violation.
Under the Bail Reform Act, a defendant must be released pending trial unless a judicial officer finds “that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community.”
In upholding the lower court’s position, the circuit court noted Feb. 18 that the alleged offense was a violent crime committed against a minor, that Begay had admitted to causing the injuries, that he had prior offenses, and that he had acted violently before.
The child is currently in the custody of Navajo Social Services, the FBI said.
