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CONVICTION UPHELD IN CHILD'S DEATH.


Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

An appeals court has upheld the murder conviction of a young Lancaster man who was sentenced to 46 years to life in prison for the death of his girlfriend's toddler son, who authorities say died from being violently shaken.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal found no evidence that 20-year-old Carlos Arellano's consumption of beer affected his mental abilities, ruling that the trial judge properly denied Arellano's defense attorney's request to tell the jury about voluntary intoxication intoxication, condition of body tissue affected by a poisonous substance. Poisonous materials, or toxins, are to be found in heavy metals such as lead and mercury, in drugs, in chemicals such as alcohol and carbon tetrachloride, in gases such as carbon monoxide, and .

``Defendant contends that his testimony that he was `buzzed' and drunk was sufficient evidence of mental impairment to support his requested instruction ...,'' the ruling said. ``The evidence of defendant's alleged intoxication failed to show that defendant was intoxicated in·tox·i·cate  
v. in·tox·i·cat·ed, in·tox·i·cat·ing, in·tox·i·cates

v.tr.
1. To stupefy or excite by the action of a chemical substance such as alcohol.

2.
 or that any intoxication affected his mental state.''

Arellano was convicted in September 2005 of second-degree murder, assault on a child under 8 years of age causing death, and four counts of child abuse in the death of 17-month-old Jonny Garcia.

An autopsy after the boy's June 2003 death showed he suffered 37 rib fractures A rib fracture is a break or fracture in one or more of the bones making up the human rib cage.
  • The first rib is rarely fractured because of its protected position behind the clavicle (collarbone).
 over his short lifetime as well as a lacerated lacerated /lac·er·at·ed/ (las´er-at?ed) torn; mangled; wounded by a jagged instrument.

lac·er·at·ed
adj.
Cut or wounded in a jagged manner.
 liver three days before his death, prosecutors said.

Arellano was 20 at the time of the boy's death and his girlfriend 18. They married while he was in jail awaiting trial, the ruling said.

Arellano testified in court that he drank a 24-ounce beer after dinner and shared two 24-ounce King Cobra beers Cobra Beer is a British beer company founded in 1989 by Karan Bilimoria. The company is based in Fulham, southwest London. Originally brewed in Bangalore, India, for export to the United Kingdom, the company now has contract brewing operations in the UK (Charles Wells), Poland,  with one or two others at a friend's house, then returned to his parents' mobile home in Rosamond and found Jonny on the steps of the front porch wheezing Wheezing Definition

Wheezing is a high-pitched whistling sound associated with labored breathing.
Description

Wheezing occurs when a child or adult tries to breathe deeply through air passages that are narrowed or filled with mucus as a
 and crying ``as if he was choking Choking Definition

Choking is the inability to breathe because the trachea is blocked, constricted, or swollen shut.
Description

Choking is a medical emergency. When a person is choking, air cannot reach the lungs.
,'' the ruling said.

Arellano said he picked Jonny up and tapped him on the back ``because I wanted him to be quiet so he won't cry no more.'' He did nothing to determine if Jonny was choking. To stop him from crying, he said he shook Jonny three to five times but did not shake the toddler really hard, the ruling said.

Jonny continued to cry after the defendant shook him, but went ``limp'' seconds later, the ruling said. Jonny's mother arrived and took the boy inside the house where others attempted to resuscitate re·sus·ci·tate
v.
To restore consciousness, vigor, or life to.
 him, the ruling said. At the hospital, the ``defendant told (his girlfriend) to get her story straight,'' the ruling said.

When interviewed by detectives, the girlfriend said that Arellano was jealous of Jonny, who was not his son, and that he became less patient with the boy after she became pregnant with Arellano's baby, the ruling said. She said her son was afraid of Arellano and had bruises Bruises Definition

Bruises, or ecchymoses, are a discoloration and tenderness of the skin or mucous membranes due to the leakage of blood from an injured blood vessel into the tissues. Pupura refers to bruising as the result of a disease condition.
 that Arellano said came from falling.

But at trial, after they married, she denied that Arellano hit, punched or kicked Jonny or that Jonny had bruises. She testified that the detectives told her what to say, and that the detectives coerced her false statements by screaming at her and banging on the table. She told the officers what they wanted to hear so they would let her go, the ruling said.

Several of Arellano's relatives testified that the defendant loved the victim and that they never saw him abuse the toddler, and a friend said that Arellano treated Jonny as if he was his own child, the ruling said.

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com

(661) 267-5744
COPYRIGHT 2006 Daily News
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2006, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:Oct 9, 2006
Words:551
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