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Codey Paul Barnes, 24, of Spring, pleaded not guilty to injury to a child, a first-degree felony, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Codey Paul Barnes, 24, of Spring, pleaded not guilty to injury to a child, a first-degree felony, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Photo: Courtesy Of The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
Codey Paul Barnes, 24, of Spring, pleaded not guilty to injury to a child, a first-degree felony, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Codey Paul Barnes, 24, of Spring, pleaded not guilty to injury to a child, a first-degree felony, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Photo: Courtesy Of The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
A Montgomery County judge has sentenced a man to 50 years in prison for shaking a 3-month-old baby to the point that the child had no pulse and stopped breathing.
On July 22, Codey Paul Barnes, 24, of Spring, pleaded not guilty to injury to a child, a first-degree felony, in the 9th District Court. Presiding Judge Phil Grant on Friday handed out the sentence following the presentation of case evidence, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
On June 3, 2019, Barnes dialed 911 to report the baby boy had “choked on formula.” The infant had no pulse and was not breathing when first responders arrived. They performed CPR and were able to get a pulse back after rendering aid. The boy was taken to Memorial Hermann The Woodlands and then taken via Life Flight to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, according to the DA’s office.
While hospitalized, it was found the baby had brain bleeds and retinal hemorrhages showing he was shaken. Montgomery County Sheriff’s detectives found evidence pointing to Barnes as the perpetrator. Barnes eventually confessed to shaking the baby, according to the DA’s office.
Though the baby survived, “he will require medical care and follow-ups for the foreseeable future to address developmental delays caused by the abuse,” read a statement from the DA’s office.
As of Monday evening, information available on the case did not make it clear what relationship Barnes had to the infant.
Assistant District Attorney Brittany Hansford prosecuted the case.
“I am very thankful for the first responders and medical team that saved this child’s life and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office for a thorough investigation,” Hansford said in a statement. “The 50-year sentence in this case is the justice that this child deserves.”
District Attorney Brett Ligon added to Hansford’s sentiments.
“I am proud of the lifesaving work of first responders with the Montgomery County Hospital District and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the professional investigation that followed,” Ligon said in a statement. “The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office will continue fighting to keep children in our community safe and will aggressively prosecute those who seek to harm them.”
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