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July 29, 2010

Lawyer: Abuse charge was a rush to judgment

Bond set at $100,000 for man accused of abuse of 13-month-old

By Donna Hales Phoenix Staff Writer

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The attorney for a Muskogee man charged Thursday with felony child abuse by injury said his client is guilty of no wrongdoing.

William Herbert Shamblin, 27, is charged with injuring his girlfriend’s 13-month-old baby, who is in critical condition in a Tulsa Hospital, said Muskogee County Assistant District Attorney Crieg Rittenhouse.

Shamblin’s attorney, Eric Jones, said Shamblin is “completely innocent, has never been in trouble — and we’re going to fight this thing tooth and nail.

“It was just a rush to judgment.”

Shamblin had been jailed without bond since Tuesday. In a 3 p.m. hearing, bond was set at $100,000, which Shamblin was in the process of posting at 6 p.m. Prosecutors had requested a $250,000 bond.

If convicted, Shamblin faces a sentence of up to a year in the county jail and/or a fine between $500 and $5,000, the filing states.

Police Lt. Bobby Lee said Shamblin told investigators he was playing with the baby when the infant was injured. He said he and the baby were the only ones present in his home when the accident occurred.

Shamblin told investigators he threw the baby up in the air and its head hit the ceiling, Lee said.

He also told investigators the infant cried and he continued throwing the baby up in hopes of calming the infant. Lee said Shamblin said when the baby was coming down again, the baby hit a door jamb.

A hospital staff doctor said the injuries are consistent with child abuse, Rittenhouse said. He also said the baby suffered a subdural hematoma (blood on the brain). The baby is improving but remains listed as critical, Rittenhouse said.

Shamblin had not posted bond by late afternoon.

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