Man says innocent in toddler’s injury

— Thomas Edward Smith, 26, pleaded innocent Friday to felony firstdegree battery in a 2012 case involving his 22-month-old stepdaughter, Brookelynn LeeAnn Davis, at the Booneville home he shared with his wife, the baby’s mother.

The child is said to be in a vegetative state at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.

Since his arrest in September, Smith has remained inthe Logan County jail in Paris in lieu of $100,000 bond. At Friday’s arraignment, a pretrial hearing for Smith was scheduled for March 1.

The felony battery charge says Smith “knowingly caused serious physical injury to a person 4 years of age or younger under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.” The charge is a Class Y felony and could result in 10-40 years in prison, or life in prison.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 01/09/2013

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