SAN ANTONIO – A man has been arrested after Bexar County deputies say he left a 5-month-old boy with severe bodily injuries.
Corey Alexander Berry, 25, was arrested Monday afternoon on a second-degree felony charge for severe bodily injury to a child. His bond was set at $10,000.
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Berry had been on the run since Friday, the same day the victim’s mother, Jeida Rodgers, was arrested and charged with serious bodily injury to a child through omission. Her bond was set at $35,000.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit for Berry, Rodgers took the infant to a hospital in Stone Oak where staff found the baby had 4-6 broken ribs on both sides of his body, left and right radius fractures, vertebral body fractures and tears in his mouth. Doctors at the hospital told investigators the tears in the victim’s mouth were consistent with “someone trying to shove a bottle in his mouth.”
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said during a press conference Sunday that the baby actually had 6-8 broken ribs.
The infant also tested positive for THC, had dark bruises on his forehead and what appeared to be bite marks on his left cheek.
When Rodgers, 21, took the victim to the hospital, she initially told staff it was because her son had a fever. She said the boy fell off a bed while being watched by his father but she provided a false name, according to Bexar County Deputies.
After further questioning, Rodgers identified her boyfriend Corey Berry as the person the victim was with when he sustained the injuries. Salazar said during the press conference that Berry is not the child’s biological father.
She said Berry told her that the victim rolled off a bed and hit his face on the floor on Thursday night. Berry allegedly told her that the boy was motionless and Berry “thought he was dead,” the affidavit states.
Rodgers said when Berry picked up the baby he appeared to be ok but she decided to take the victim to the hospital when he woke up with a fever the next day and appeared to be lethargic.
During an interview with deputies, Rodgers said she saw Berry “nibble” on the victim’s cheeks but later used the term “bite.”
Rodgers said she wasn’t sure how the victim sustained the other injuries.
Salazar said “It boggles the mind — the number of injuries this baby sustained. I can only imagine the amount of abuse that went into causing these and the pain and suffering that this baby was exposed to.”
During the press conference, Salazar said Rodgers had previously broken up with Berry because she thought he was being violent with her child but the two eventually reconnected.
Bexar County court records show Berry was also arrested for two prior charges on Monday, including a violation of bond and protective order and an unlicensed carrying of a handgun charge. His bonds total $29,000 for all three charges.
Court records reveal he had a previous charge for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon that was dismissed and a deadly conduct-family charge that was also dismissed.