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Three witnesses testified during the first day of a three-day jury trial for a Warsaw man accused of injuring a young child, resulting in the child suffering several fractures.
Brandon Rodrigo Juarez Resendiz, 26, of 201 S. Detroit St., Warsaw, is charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, a level 3 felony.
Juarez Resendiz is being represented by Travis McConnell, Warsaw. The state's case is being presented by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Grossnickle.
In Indiana, a level 3 felony is punishable by three to 16 years in prison, with an advisory sentence of nine years.
Affidavit Of Probable Cause
On Oct. 22, 2024, a Warsaw Police Department officer went to a local hospital to speak with a Department of Child Services agent. The agent was contacted by hospital staff about a child with a broken arm.
According to court documents, the DCS agent said Juarez Resendiz was watching the child throughout the day. The child had a broken right arm and four fractured ribs.
Katlin M. Alexander, Warsaw, said she was asleep in a bedroom while Juarez Resendiz and the child were asleep in the living room. She said she heard the child cry, brought the child into the bedroom with her, and changed their diaper. Juarez Resendiz then came into the bedroom and brought the child back to the living room. Alexander said Juarez Resendiz watched the child while she slept. When she left for work, she said the child was comfortable and not fussy.
About three hours after Alexander left, she said Juarez Resendiz messaged her about redness and swelling on the child's arm. Alexander left work, went home to get the child, and took them to the hospital. Juarez Resendiz told Alexander he believed it was possibly a bug bite.
A second child at the residence was also brought to the hospital for medical evaluation. Staff did not notice any injuries on the second child.
A Warsaw detective interviewed Juarez Resendiz, who said he noticed Alexander brought the child into the bedroom with her. Juarez Resendiz said he took the child back with him to the living room and that they both went back to sleep.
When both he and the child woke up, Juarez Resendiz said he noticed the child's right arm was swollen and red when he took them out of their swaddle. He allegedly said he did not notice any behavioral changes with the child and did not notice the redness and swelling until he contacted Alexander.
The child was taken to Riley Children's Hospital for their injuries. With one of the fractures they suffered, medical staff determined it was a hard location on an infant's body to suffer a fracture. One of the child's injuries was also determined to be specific to abuse.
Two areas of bruising on the child's face were also inconsistent with Juarez Resendiz and Alexander's explanations of how they suffered their facial injuries.
Riley Children's Hospital medical staff ruled out Juarez Resendiz and Alexander's responses related to how the child suffered the injuries.
Alexander is also facing a level 3 felony in this case, with her case currently set for a pretrial conference on April 9.
Trial Proceedings
Five men and eight women were seated on the jury in Kosciusko Superior Court I around 11 a.m. Tuesday, with Judge Karin McGrath presiding.
In his opening statement to the jury, Grossnickle detailed statements listed in the affidavit of probable cause, noting the child in question was 6 weeks old when the injuries occurred. He said the child appeared fine when Alexander went to work, leaving Juarez Resendiz in a position of care over the child. While Alexander was at work, Juarez Resendiz called her, saying the child's arm "did not look right."
When Alexander came home, they took the child to an emergency room, where it was determined the child suffered over 20 fractures, including injuries to their right arm, ribs and spine. Grossnickle told the jury Juarez Resendiz gave no explanation for the injuries other than it was potentially a bug bite.
"These injuries were not the result of a bug bite," said Grossnickle. "These injuries occurred while (the child) was in Brandon's sole care."
McConnell told the jury the case was "about what happens when people jump to conclusions," stating none of the witnesses would be able to explicitly state what happened to the child. He stated the presented evidence would not define what exactly occurred, and no explanation of how or when the injuries took place would be presented by the state.
He also noted there would be testimonial differences on the number of fractures and bruises the child suffered.
"We require strong proof to convict someone, and suspicion and concern are not proof," said McConnell. "If there are questions, the law requires a verdict of not guilty."
McConnell also told the jury Juarez Resendiz fully cooperated during the investigation and none of his statements changed over time about the incident.
The state's first witness was Sara Gomez, a DCS worker who was on-call on Oct. 22, 2024. She was notified about the child's injuries by Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital staff and met with WPD officer Brandon Fugate at the hospital.
Gomez said she spoke with both Juarez Resendiz and Alexander, noting Alexander was "visibly upset and concerned" about the child's injuries. She noticed on scene the child's right arm was "very red." Photos of the child and their arm were submitted as evidence to the court.
Juarez Resendiz was asked to come to the hospital with the child's sibling, who was uninjured. DCS also completed a home visit and did not find anything unusual.
Gomez testified no explanation, such as a prior accident, was given as to the cause of the child's injuries. She said the case was transferred to a different DCS caseworker the following day.
In cross-examination, Gomez said the child was asleep in Alexander's arms when she saw them, and that they were not crying. She noted a doctor told her the child's injuries were likely inflicted.
Fugate was the state's second witness and said he was told the child had a broken arm and ribs. He also noticed the child had redness and swelling to one of their arms. Fugate also transported Juarez Resendiz to WPD for an interview with WPD Lt. Ryan Coble, who was a detective at the time of the incident.
Fugate said the child did not cry when they were moved around for pictures and that he was told by Alexander that Juarez Resendiz was watching the child while she went to work. In cross-examination, he said all possibilities were considered regarding the child's injuries, including their sibling potentially harming them.
The third and final witness for the day was Coble, who interviewed both Alexander and Juarez Resendiz about what happened. Coble said Juarez Resendiz told him he believed the child was bitten by a spider, recalling an incident where he had been bitten and experienced similar symptoms. Juarez Resendiz also told Coble he had completed an online search as to why the child's arm was red and swollen.
A search of Juarez Resendiz's phone was also completed, with Coble mentioning a photo taken of the child on Oct. 17, 2024. In that photo, the child had no injuries.
In cross-examination, McConnell played body camera footage from Fugate showing Coble asking Juarez Resendiz about an interview shortly after he arrived at the hospital. The child's sibling was also shown crying as a nurse took them from Juarez Resendiz for an evaluation.
Coble said he utilized the Reid Technique in interviewing Juarez Resendiz, estimating the interview itself was approximately 45 minutes long.
Coble's interviews with both Alexander and Juarez Resendiz were presented as evidence to the jury. Alexander said she changed the child's clothes and diaper sometime around 5 a.m. on Oct. 22, 2024, and didn't notice any issues with them at that time. She told Coble that while she was at work, Juarez Resendiz called her and asked if she noticed any bite marks on them. Juarez Resendiz then Facetimed Alexander, who came home when she saw the child's right arm was twice its normal size.
Alexander also said she never saw Juarez Resendiz get angry to a point where she was fearful about him being around the children.
Coble said both Juarez Resendiz and Alexander had the child alone at one point on Oct. 22, 2024.
In his interview with Coble, Juarez Resendiz said he was changing the child's diaper when he noticed their arm was red. He said he believed the child had been bitten by a spider, which led him to call Alexander, with both of them taking the child to LKH. Juarez Resendiz also told Coble the child always "laid in a specific way" ever since they were born.
Coble told Juarez Resendiz the child's arm injury was a spiral fracture typically seen with the twist of an arm. When he was told about the rib fractures, Juarez Resendiz asked if those injuries could be from a swaddle. He questioned how the injuries could have occurred to the child without him knowing.
Juarez Resendiz's trial will continue at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 18.
