Man faces endangerment, animal cruelty charges
Morales Gracia allegedly threw boy, leading to dog’s death
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A city man is behind bars after being accused of throwing a toddler hard enough to kill the Chihuahua on which the child landed.
Altoona police were dispatched to an apartment at Evergreen Manors at 10:57 p.m. May 25 to a report of a man assaulting an 18-month-old boy, according to court documents.
A witness told police they saw Bryan Rey Morales Gracia, 34, holding the child and "smacking" him repeatedly. The witness, who said she could see in the window because the blinds were pulled up, reported that Morales Gracia struck the child multiple times before throwing the child into a Pack-n-Play. The witness told police she went to the window and yelled at Morales Gracia, telling him to stop hurting the child. At that point, Morales Gracia left the room and then re-entered the room with the child's mother, who picked up the baby and kept him away from Morales Gracia, stating "stop hitting the baby."
A security guard at the housing complex told police Morales Gracia and the child's mother came out of the home and sat down on the sidewalk with Morales Gracia holding the lifeless dog and the baby still crying inside the home.
Police said the child had red marks on his cheeks, back and forehead, as well as two partial fingerprint marks on his forehead. The baby's back was also covered in debris, the report states. The child was transported to UPMC Altoona for treatment of his injuries.
In an interview with police, Morales Gracia said the boy often hits the dog and he smacked the child to reprimand him. He said the dog and child are often in the Pack-n-Play together and claimed to have placed the child on top of the dog by mistake. He said he tried to revive the dog when he found it unresponsive.
Police noted in the affidavit of probable cause that Morales Gracia was still holding the dog's body while talking with officers.
The affidavit states that through the course of the investigation, it was determined that when Morales Gracia threw the child into the Pack-N-Play, it was done with enough force that the victim was thrown onto the small dog, killing it.
Morales Gracia was arrested and arraigned Sunday on felony counts of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children and aggravated cruelty to animals, misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person and simple assault, and summary counts of harassment and cruelty to animals.
Unable to post $25,000 bail, he was remanded to the Blair County Prison. His preliminary hearing is set for July 5 before Magisterial District Judge Benjamin F. Jones.