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WILKES-BARRE — A 22-year-old man charged last week with causing life-threatening injuries to a 2-month-old boy inside a city residence was arraigned Tuesday morning.

Arrick M. Griffin, previously with an address listed in Duryea but now of Harrisburg, appeared before District Judge Thomas Malloy in Wilkes-Barre on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of children.

Malloy last week signed an arrest warrant for Griffin after an investigation by city police and Luzerne County detectives.

Authorities allege Griffin was caring for the 2-month-old while the mother, Samantha Parks, was at work July 24, 2017. They had been staying with friends at a residence on Wyoming Street at the time.

According to a criminal complaint:

Griffin drove the infant to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

He explained to physicians the infant suffered injuries by falling off a bed when Griffin was in a bathroom. Griffin claimed he picked up the infant from a crib, placed the baby on a bed, and walked into the bathroom and then heard a “thud.”

Griffin said he picked up the infant from the floor and the baby was not moving and appeared to be “limp.”

An emergency room physician examined the infant, discovering head trauma, bruises and older injuries. The physician reported suspected child abuse to authorities, as required by law.

The infant was then flown to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey due to life-threatening injuries. The child was treated and survived.

Griffin told Parks the infant did not fall off a bed, but that Griffin was holding the baby when his sandal got caught on carpeting, causing him to drop the boy.

Medical records for the infant cited by investigators indicate the baby suffered bruises to his chest, left knee, a broken left arm and brain trauma. Detectives say the infant’s injuries are not consistent with Griffin’s explanation of falling off a bed or the baby dropping from his arms to the floor.

Griffin was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $75,000 bail.

Griffin
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By Ed Lewis

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