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A Merced County judge has found ample evidence to try a 25-year-old man for allegedly abusing a 16-month-old infant, causing fatal injuries.

Armando Oseguera Jr. is accused of causing the July 24, 2007, death of Landon Skinner. The child died after he became unconscious and stopped breathing at a house in the 1100 block of East Manzanita Drive in Atwater.

Paramedics responded to the scene during the evening hours of July 23,tiffany rings, 2007 and revived the child, but he later died at the hospital. Atwater police say that before the child’s death, he’d been in the care of Oseguera, the mother’s boyfriend.

Oseguera was arrested by Atwater police on April 27 of this year after detectives said he gave statements inconsistent with previous interviews he’d given about the boy’s death. In addition, a Merced County Coroner’s Office pathologist who reviewed the case determined the child died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen — an injury probably caused by a severe blow.

Oseguera faces two felony counts: assault on a child with force likely to result in great bodily injury and felony child abuse. He’s also charged with domestic violence for a separate incident involving the boy’s mother. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

After listening to testimony from the boy’s mother, a forensic pathologist and Atwater police, Judge Carol Ash decided at a preliminary hearing last week there’s enough evidence to try Oseguera, saying the evidence suggests the boy died from willful, violently inflicted injuries.

The boy’s mother and Oseguera had been living together and police believe the boy was left in the defendant’s care the day he died. Detective Armando Echevarria said police questioned Oseguera after the death, but he claimed to have no idea what happened.

Police didn’t buy Oseguera’s story and have questioned him three times since the boy’s death. On April 27 this year, Echevarria questioned Oseguera and the defendant gave a different story, claiming he accidentally dropped the child. Oseguera said the baby struck the corner of a crib, but had no visual wounds, didn’t cry and seemed unhurt. Later that day, however, the baby was taken to the hospital and died.

Oseguera also claimed he didn’t say anything to police about dropping the infant three years ago because he was "scared." After making his most recent statements, Oseguera was taken into custody by police.

Defense attorneys "Mishya" Rimpel Singh and Tony Green said it’s unclear whether their client’s alleged dropping of the baby caused the fatal injury. Even if that’s the case, Singh said there’s no evidence the incident happened on purpose. "It doesn’t seem like (the cause of death) is fully known because there’s different reports from different doctors," Singh said.

Green also argued prosecutors haven’t proven Oseguera willfully hurt the boy.

Deputy District Attorney Matt Serratto, prosecutor in the case, said although he’s not "100 percent sure" about what happened to cause the boy’s injury, he believes Oseguera is responsible — and may not be telling the truth. "These are not injuries that can be caused by just dropping (the child) a foot onto that crib,tiffany key rings," he said.

The mother of the victim, who has two children with Oseguera, testified during the preliminary hearing that she had gone to lunch and left the child with the defendant on July 23, 2007. Later, the mother observed the child lying in his play pen, looking pale and sick. The baby had also been throwing up,tiffany bangles, was sweaty and his stomach was "hard."

She called an ambulance, but the child stopped breathing before paramedics arrived. Although the paramedics were able to revive the child, he was pronounced dead at the hospital the next day.

Oseguera’s next court hearing is scheduled for July 8. He remains at the Merced County Jail in lieu of $560,tiffany money clips,000 bail.

Reporter Victor A. Patton can be reached at (209) 385-2431 or vpatton@mercedsun-star.com.