A parolee charged with trying to kill his 8-month-old son in a vacant Los Angeles apartment was ordered Monday to stand trial on attempted murder and child abuse charges.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar found sufficient evidence against Michael Freeman, 30, of Nashville, Tennessee, to proceed to trial on the charges of attempted murder and child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death. Villar ordered Freeman, who is being held without bail, to return to court for arraignment on Sept. 23.
Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami alleged when Freeman was first arraigned that the defendant forcibly took his son from the baby's mother following an argument, ran to an unoccupied room of an apartment in the 800 block of South Hill Street and punched him. The infant's injuries were also consistent with attempted strangulation and attempted drowning, according to the prosecutor, who told the judge that the baby may have permanent neurological injuries.
Police allegedly found Freeman beating the baby and reportedly had to use a Taser to subdue and arrest him on April 18.
Freeman was on parole and supervised release in Tennessee following his conviction in a federal drug case, and was allegedly involved in two incidents of domestic violence involving his baby's mother and two of her other children since his release, according to Hatami.
Freeman could face a potential maximum state prison sentence of life in prison if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney's Office.
