Man, 20, accused of shaking his 10-month-old son

CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — A young Georgia father is in jail, accused of shaking and severely injuring his 10-month-old son.

Demoddrick Gardner, 20, was just arrested Wednesday and is in the Camden County Jail without bail. His son has been in Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, since Christmas Eve, being treated for brain damage.

Action News Jax found out Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services had concerns about the baby’s parents long before he was hurt.

According to a warrant, protective services never wanted the child to go home with his parents after he was born.

“I'm speechless,” said Francina Dallas, a mother of two who immediately recognized Gardner's mug shot when Action News Jax’s Cole Heath showed it to her.

“I still can’t believe it,” said Dallas, whose mother lived down the street from Gardner.

His arrest warrant said the 20-year-old rushed his baby to the hospital Christmas Eve, saying he fell while holding the 10-month-old at their Woodbine house.

The child, born premature, wasn't breathing normally after the alleged fall. But while at Wolfson, investigators found the baby's brain damage is consistent with someone shaking the infant.

“To end up in the hospital because of a fall, I would suspect something,” said Camden County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chuck Byerly.

Byerly said deputies arrested Gardner on felony charges of cruelty to a child Wednesday.

“I’ve seen a lot of these over the years and its amazing someone could willfully do something to a child,” Byerly said.

Gardner's arrest warrant said Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services had concerns about the 20-year-old when his son was born last year.

It said the department was worried about Gardner and his wife's ability to care for their special-needs child.

Court documents say one time a doctor even found a pacifier taped to the baby's mouth, but the boy's parents were still allowed custody.

Action News Jax is working to get an update on the child’s condition and has reached out to authorities in Georgia and Florida to get more information.

Gardner’s arrest warrant says deputies found marijuana in his home at the time of the incident. The report said Gardner admitted to smoking pot the day the baby was hospitalized.

Cox Media Group