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City man held in assault

An Altoona man was arrested Friday for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend earlier this month.

Cesar Suarez, 39, of 130 Sixth Ave., is accused of punching the woman several times while she was holding her 8-month-old child during an argument on July 2, according to charges filed by Altoona police.

The woman, who told police she is pregnant when she reported the incident on Friday, said she fell onto her bed after Suarez got angry and chased her on July 2. The baby was sleeping on the bed and Suarez jumped on it, coming within inches of landing on the child, police said.

When she picked up the baby, Suarez allegedly started striking her in the head and then, after he took the child from the woman, he allegedly kicked her seven or eight times in the back of the head.

Suarez is accused of then taking the woman’s cellphone and hanging up after she called 911, and she claimed he kept her from leaving. She said Suarez had kept her phone for some time and she was unsure if she could report the alleged assault since so much time had passed.

The baby was scratched on the head and back during the assault, she told police.

Suarez now faces a felony count of child endangerment along with misdemeanor charges of simple assault and recklessly endangering anoth­er person.

He remains in Blair County Prison in lieu of $7,500 cash bail. A preliminary hearing at Central Court is scheduled for July 24.

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