A man who allegedly left his baby boy at home for hours last week while he went drinking was formally charged this morning with child abuse resulting in death.
Joseph Trujillo, 23, allegedly spent up to eight hours at local bars, deputy district attorney Natalie Judson alleged during Trujillo’s formal court advisement today.
Trujillo is charged in connection with the death of Adrian Anthony Trujillo, his five-month-old son.
Judson asked Jefferson County Judge Jack DeVita for a $1 million bond. DeVita set bond at $50,000.
No details of the baby’s death have been public.
The charge alleges that Trujillo unreasonably placed the child in a situation that threatened his life or health.
If convicted, Trujillo faces a prison term of between 16 and 48 years, according to Pam Russell, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County district attorney’s office.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department was alerted to the situation about 12:30 a.m. Jan. 21, when the child’s grandmother, who lived at the apartment with Trujillo and Adrian, called 911 after waking up and hearing Trujillo crying and saw him holding his son.
Medical personnel declared the child dead at the scene.
Investigators interviewed Trujillo, the grandmother and other witnesses and determined that Trujillo had been gone from the home for a prolonged period of time.
The grandmother, who works afternoons and evenings, believed her son had taken the baby with him and was unaware of the child’s presence in the apartment when she returned from work.
Officials said the child’s mother is in the Army but is not married to Trujillo.
According to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army at Fort Riley, Kan., Trujillo was “administratively separated” from the Army in May 2009.
If Trujillo makes bond, he will be placed on an electronic monitor.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
