Lemoore police arrest local man on suspicion of felony child abuse

On Saturday at approximately 2:30 a.m. the Lemoore Police Department received a call from officials with the Adventist Medical Center in Hanford, informing officers that a 6-month-old male child had been brought into their facility with what they believed was a fractured skull and tibia.

Medical staff at the hospital believed the injuries appeared to be consistent with being non-accidental. 

Officers responded to the Hanford hospital and contacted the infant's 27-year-old mother.  The female told officers that earlier in the evening she was with her common-law husband, 19-year-old Keith Jeff, at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, while a grandmother stayed home watching their 6-month-old infant son. 

According to a police report, Keith Jeff became highly intoxicated, and once the couple returned home, Jeff became confrontational with the female. The grandmother and other family members arrived to assist. 

At one point Jeff walked into the residence while still intoxicated and removed the infant from its basinet. He then exited the residence and started to walk away, holding the infant until the female could take the infant from him.

A short time later the mother noticed swelling to the right side of the infant’s face.  The female then drove the infant to the emergency room at AMC.

Jeff was contacted at his Lemoore residence where he was taken into custody on charges of felony child abuse, and he was subsequently booked into Kings County Jail with a $50,000 bail.

The infant was flown to Valley Children's Hospital in order to receive a higher level of care. The infant is currently in the intensive care unit, but in stable condition.

This case is still under investigation.  Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Sgt. Gonsalves at the Lemoore Police Department (559) 924-5333.