NS man found guilty of injuring baby boy

NS man found guilty of injuring baby boy

DeBeir to be sentenced in Floyd County District Court in February

A Nora Springs man found guilty Friday of seriously injuring a baby will learn in February whether he will spend up to 10 years in prison.

A Floyd County jury took about four hours to convict Tylan James DeBeir, 25, on one count of child endangerment, a class C felony. The 13-month-old son of his live-in girlfriend suffered head injuries while DeBeir was his sole caregiver and she was at her job in a convenience store.

Floyd County Attorney Rachel Ginbey described the boy’s injuries as bleeding on the brain and behind the eyes as well as brain damage that caused the boy to lose motion in the right side of his body. He’s undergone therapy to regain function in his right side, she said After closing arguments on Friday, the jury received the case at about 11:30 a.m., delivering its guilty verdict about 3:30 p.m. The trial began Monday with jury selection that lasted into Tuesday, when a jury, with two alternates, of eight men and six women was seated.

Public Defender Susan Flander represented DeBeir, who claimed that the baby climbed out of his playpen and fell in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 30, 2013. He said he was awakened by the thud.

Ginbey and Assistant State Attorney General Coleman McAllister prosecuted the case, saying that DeBier was awakened by the fussing baby, changed his diaper and threw him back in the playpen, causing the injuries.

By Chris Baldus cbaldus@charlescitypress.com