JOHNSTOWN, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A Johnstown man has been charged with reckless assault of a child after his newborn was found unresponsive on September 20, according to a press release from the Johnstown Police Department. Officers were first sent to an address on Smith Street at about 11:54 a.m. September 20, after relatives allegedly found the newborn unresponsive and bleeding.
Johnstown Police officers and the Johnstown Fire Department arrived on the scene, treated the infant, and took them to the emergency room at Nathan Littauer Hospital. Detectives and Patrol Officers spoke with the person who had been with the child, identified by police as Jeremi M. Ferguson. He is the child’s father, police said.
Ferguson tried to explain what had happened before relatives found the child, which led to Detectives securing numerous pieces of evidence.
Following treatment at Nathan Littauer Hospital, the newborn was airlifted to Albany Medical Center in a LifeNet helicopter. Based on interviews with relatives, medical records, and evidence recovered at the scene, Detectives asked for an arrest warrant.
On Tuesday, October 18, Ferguson was arrested on the warrant and charged with one count of reckless assault of a child, a felony. He was arraigned in Johnstown City Court by the Hon. Brett Preston and released on his own recognizance. Ferguson was turned over to the New York State Police in Fonda, on an active warrant of arrest for grand larceny.
