CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A man has been arrested for allegedly hitting an infant because the baby was crying.
According to an arrest warrant, police responded to a local hotel on the evening of July 8 for a fight in progress. When they arrived, the two children at the hotel appeared to be fine. The children’s mother was taken into custody and the children were left in the care of 36-year-old Lance Westgate.
Officers visited visited the hotel later on to check on the welfare of the children. They found Westgate passed out in the room with a 7-month-old lying beside him, covered in blankets with no diaper and crying. The infant had significant bruising on his upper body.
Police said Westgate appeared to be intoxicated and “very agitated.”
The baby was taken to Tennova Hospital. The other child, a 4-year-old, told police that his stepfather hit the infant five times because he wouldn’t stop crying.
Westgate was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect. His bond was set at $100,000.