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Havasu dad gets two years in child abuse case

STAFF REPORTS
Today's News-Herald
Published Tuesday, January 5, 2010 7:07 AM MST

KINGMAN — Richard F. Bartlett, 21, of Lake Havasu City, was sentenced to two years Monday in Mohave County Superior Court.

According to Deputy County Attorney Jeremy Huss, the maximum to which Bartlett could have been sentenced was 2 1/2 years.

Bartlett was convicted in early December on felony offenses including aggravated assault-domestic violence and child abuse-domestic violence after an incident last year when his infant son was injured.

The incident occurred March 17, 2008, when Bartlett allegedly caused injuries to the femur, rib and collarbone of his 7-week-old infant son, David Bartlett, after reportedly handling him in a rough manner.

The incident happened in the early morning hours that day at a residence in the 3400 block of Tomahawk Drive.

In January 2009, Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steven F. Conn denied a motion to suppress Bartlett’s confession to police from court proceedings.

The night of his arrest, Bartlett reportedly told police he awoke around midnight or 1 a.m. to the sound of his son, David, crying “at the top of his lungs,” court documents show. “I’m irritated, I grab him, I squeeze him against my chest and I’m him just like: David, stop crying!” Bartlett was quoted as saying.

“I started squeezing him harder and harder and I started…manhandling him more, and I took him to the table, tossed him down.” Bartlett also told police he heard a thud as the back of the baby’s head hit the table.

“I was upset, angry, so I just took his diaper off, wiped him…I lift up his legs and I’m not being gentle with him. I lift up his lefts, put them down, then I took the diaper and he just started screaming at the top of his lungs.

“That’s when I took his legs and I put them back further than they needed to go back. I forced them back, put pressure on them, that’s when I heard the pop,” Bartlett was quoted as saying.

You may contact the reporter at jhanson@havasunews.com.

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Comments (37 comment(s))

stillgood wrote on Jan 17, 2010 1:58 AM:

" azcorrections.gov/inmate_datasearch/results.aspx?InmateNumber=249836&LastName=BARTLETT&FNMI=R&SearchType=SearchInet

according to his listing on the ADC website he got 5 years on the child abuse and 2 on the agg. assault. running concurrently, he will be released from the custody of ADC on 11/15/13 and will be on parole from then until 10/15/14.

He MIGHT not come out with the same face...

p.s. - its David's second birthday this coming Friday the 22nd :) Happy Birthday buddy "

northbound wrote on Jan 14, 2010 2:27 PM:

" calidowns yes some people claim they found God and hide their sins. That doesn't mean all people who follow God are that way. Many people have found the lord and have gone on to live changed lives. It's worth a try. Yes he deserves to be in jail an a lot longer then what he got,while he is in there he has time to do the right thing. "

tntareinlove2000 wrote on Jan 14, 2010 2:26 PM:

" I think that someone like that should NEVER BE ABLE to have kids again! I think that if you could do something like that should have their rights taken away from them. You have people in this world that would love to have children and due to the fact that they have medical problem that prohibits them from having children. And then you hear about something like that. How dare someone do that. Children do not know better then that! Hope he gets what is coming to him in jail. I would cherish the day that I find out that I am pregnant. Hearing that really is upsetting! "

blue wrote on Jan 14, 2010 1:16 PM:

" r2sweet99, THAT has to be the most intellegent thing anyone has said in any of these posts in a long time. Thank you and God bless! "

r2sweet99 wrote on Jan 14, 2010 4:29 AM:

" God is a miracle worker, but just like any "program" you have to WORK the steps....God comes by invitation,and works wonders in the lives of all he touches....There IS hope For this misguided soul,I am NO angel and I am passing No judgemnt,My heart goes out to all involved and my Prayer is that God touches each and every one ....reading this,commenting on it and Specially for those involved in it personaly. We all could use some hope,guidance and peace in our lives EVERY DAY! May God see fit to provide as his word promises He will! "

gatekeeper wrote on Jan 13, 2010 11:12 PM:

" Regardless of opinion, anyone who could hurt an infant has major issues, and needs to be considered a threat to society. Stop the Cycle of domestic violence; well of course, using the cycle of Domestic Violence as an excuse to write off the actions of those who injure or kill children when crying is inexcusable. Previous articles mentioned the Havasu Police force has a team of child abuse prevention cops, and has a top Investigator working here. Thankfully those who hurt children in Havasu suffer the max. - Good work Lake Havasu Police Department! "

! wrote on Jan 13, 2010 12:18 PM:

" I had a son who was bad. We tried secular and Christian councilors/therapist. We tried a boot camp style intervention. We went to church. All with no results because he wasn't open to change. My son eventually ended up in prison, for six years, best thing that ever happen. The school of hard knocks got him beat up and scared to where he wanted to change. He now is gainfully employed and a good husband and dad. A person will only change when they're ready. "

bill516 wrote on Jan 13, 2010 7:25 AM:

" My whole point is the prisons don't "rehabilitate" anyone.It's no surprise that the meth word was uttered, that stuff is wretched.I suspect this does not happen without it.

I have no problem with people being "punished" but the prisons are just full of people with no hope and nothing changes with them, then they are released back to society worse than when they went in in many cases.

Make him volunteer in the community with drug testing.
We can't afford to throw everyone/anyone in prison the way they want today.California and others have tried it, it doesn't work!
I don't know where the idea that stricter punishments solve anything, is this out of the old testement!! "

Calidowns wrote on Jan 12, 2010 10:26 PM:

" northbound, so finding God is going to help this man? how about all those alchoholics, drug addicts,cheaters, abusers and liars who not only preach to others about how godly they are, but whoattend church to try to hide their behavior. Those peopleate rehabilitated, just because you are aware of sho god is doesnt mean they follow the morals. "

northbound wrote on Jan 12, 2010 3:39 PM:

" 2 years 9mo is not enough. Time for the courts to rethink sentancing for crimes. This guy needs to get off the meth and do some serious soul searching in doc. The only way he will even be able to refine himself is if he finds the Lord. Sorry bill516 but I know a man who did prison time and has straightened his life out. He moved to LHC and worked for the local trash company. He has since gone on medical disability with cancer, proof that people can be rehabilitated IF that is what THEY choose to do with themself while in prison. Praise the Lord this child is going to be ok and may never remember this later on in life. David (suspect) needs to get very aquainted with God. "

liza21 wrote on Jan 12, 2010 2:14 PM:

" all i can say right now is that how can a guy have such a bad heart with his own son.... the guy should be sentenced in jail.
poor baby i hope everything turns out being okay with him... "

pugpup wrote on Jan 12, 2010 12:08 PM:

" bill 516 ... I also agree with you. There is definately no way to forgive such an act on a defenseless child. However, at some point this man will likely be released from prison - at that point, will he have learned how to handle his anger and frustrations in a more constructive way? Most incidents of domestic violence have a direct correlation to the offender's family dynamic growing up. If there is no education and or counseling provided for these offenders it is likely that they will repeat the offense.

Domestic violence should be approached with swift punishments for offenders, rehabilitation and education for them and the victim and their families. Everyone in the family is affected. WE MUST STOP THE CYCLE!!! "

TRACI LORDS wrote on Jan 11, 2010 1:00 PM:

" THIS GUY IS A MESS
MET HIM--TALKED WITH HIM--BLOWN AWAY WITH HIS TAINTED SENSE OF REALITY.

METH ADDICTION IS AN UGLY PLACE TO BE. "

vsimon63 wrote on Jan 10, 2010 12:19 PM:

" "The child in question, David, is being raised solely by his great-grandparents and has been since he came home from the hospital after the incident. They have a wonderful support system of friends who help them with David when ever necessary."

"I have been the father in his life since before this even happened and still am."

Soooooo then, how did Richard get access to this kid? Where was everyone else when the kid was screaming at the top of his lungs?

Richard IS the bad guy here, and didn't get near enough time, but with other people claiming to be the "sole" care-takers of this "happy, healthy" child, where were they?

Just saying... "

motherofanangel wrote on Jan 9, 2010 1:05 PM:

" I'm just sad for the baby. Hopefully he does not suffer long term from the injuries he sustained. May God Bless this baby and keep watch over him. "

! wrote on Jan 9, 2010 9:33 AM:

" If you people only knew! "

MN wrote on Jan 9, 2010 4:52 AM:

" Maybe someone should "put his legs back and POP them!" He should never be able to father another child. Another case of children having children..will it never end? God bless the poor baby! "

r2sweet99 wrote on Jan 9, 2010 4:40 AM:

" This guy is a repeat offender, he's going to need more than 2 years to change/fix his issue. "

r2sweet99 wrote on Jan 9, 2010 4:36 AM:

" Bill516...Im on your side-I understand your point, and to be very clear,everyone pays the concequences for thier actions, his is prison, HOPEFULLY he will be rehabilitated. "

bill516 wrote on Jan 8, 2010 5:39 PM:

" I understand the anger, its a very disturbing story.I would like to see the baby boy have a shot(however remote) of having a father in the future.This kid (don't know many 20 yr old mature adults)may or may not be beyond help, I don't know.This type of violence is almost always familial, don't we have a responsibility as a society to address it? "

VoiceOfReason wrote on Jan 8, 2010 1:49 PM:

" So, bill516, what is your solution that you can share with all of us? Surely you must have one, or else why criticize others' opinions? A wise man I once knew said, "don't bring me a problem unless you have a suggestion for fixing it." Wellllllll, we're waiting.... "

Havasures wrote on Jan 8, 2010 1:22 PM:

" bill516 ~ you're implying that sending the father to jail is not a good thing. What would your suggestion have been to do with him? Should he have just been given parole so he could be out on the streets and potentially hurt others? How about therapy, would that have been better? The problem with that is that the person would have to want to accept responsibility and change. At the end of the day however, it isn't my concern as to what may or may not have been best for the father, it is for the child, the VICTIM, who in no way deserved to be put throught what he has. The father is a grown man who knows right from wrong, the child was seven WEEKS old! The father is exactly where he belongs! "

jasmine wrote on Jan 8, 2010 1:16 PM:

" bill516: You think you're so right, so we'll tell ya what. Everyone on this forum will head to the court today with you at the forefront. We will ask the Court to release this slob into you're custody, and for that, you will promise the people in the interest of "proper" rehabilitation, that this slob will now officially be you're new live in babysitter for the term of his sentence. Sound better?? "

BrightOne wrote on Jan 8, 2010 12:44 PM:

" WOW! Pretty descriptive story, right down to the popping sound. I about heaved up the taco I just ate, when I read that.
Sick, just plain sick. "

bill516 wrote on Jan 8, 2010 10:04 AM:

" Terrible situation, but you don't fix troubled people by locking them in cages with other troubled people.

The responses here indicate a acceptance of the status quo, where nothing good comes from a bad situation, just more bad! "

Havasures wrote on Jan 6, 2010 9:42 AM:

" The child in question, David, is being raised solely by his great-grandparents and has been since he came home from the hospital after the incident. They have a wonderful support system of friends who help them with David when ever necessary. These are the only people in David's life who have any credit to raising him and helping him become the healthy and happy boy that he is. His mother is still in the picture and sees David often, but is not really involved in raising him. She still is however his legal guardian with full parental rights. There is not currently any court proceedings going on to remove these rights from her at this time. This holds true for her other infant son. As for her location at the time of the incident she was in fact at the home asleep as was originally reported. David will continue to be raised by his great-grandparents and no other person. "

jasmine wrote on Jan 6, 2010 12:32 AM:

" This is so horrible. This baby could have died. Two years doenst even begin to serve as sufficient punishment for this guy. He even said he man handled the baby, is this true?!? What idiot would admit to that? "

VoiceOfReason wrote on Jan 5, 2010 2:38 PM:

" I would be interested to know what (if any) restrictions there will be on his contact with the child after he is released. He seems without remorse or any grasp of how wrong this was.

LHCwasteland, if I remember the original article back when it happened, the mom was asleep in the home at the time. Go figure. "

imgood wrote on Jan 5, 2010 2:17 PM:

" David(the baby) is perfectly fine these days. I have been the father in his life since before this even happened and still am. There is no such thing as "good time" in arizona. being that it is a violent crime he will serve 85% of his sentence. And unless i was misinformed he got a 1-year sentence & a 2-year sentence which if ran consecutively would mean 2 yrs and 9 months which still does not suffice but is better than two. The mother will be going to court this week to see the judge about termination of parental rights, in which such case i will be taking over the spot cleared blank on the birth certificate. As for any questions about where the mother was: keep your opinions to yourself until you go down to the LHCPD and requst a police report. "

nenative wrote on Jan 5, 2010 2:03 PM:

" This sentence is a joke. I'm with you dramalake, hope he gets his while in jail. "

dramalake wrote on Jan 5, 2010 12:48 PM:

" I can not believe that is all the time he gets. Hope he gets beat up in jail. Does anyone know the status of the baby? I think if you hurt a child, animal or elderly person, you should get life! No defense for someone who hurts the defenseless. "

LHCwasteland wrote on Jan 5, 2010 10:55 AM:

" This guy is a punk. Where was the mother during all this. "

comments wrote on Jan 5, 2010 10:39 AM:

" should have gotten 10 years
what a big man
what a judge... "

unseat the dems in 2010 wrote on Jan 5, 2010 9:14 AM:

" 2 years for harming a little child? He will probably be out in 6 months for good behavior. Sad. "

mogas wrote on Jan 5, 2010 9:13 AM:

" Should have been sentenced 25 years or more plus immediate castration.. "

Havacomment24 wrote on Jan 5, 2010 9:12 AM:

" It is so disgusting to hear that he could do that to his own son and only got 2 1/2 years of jail time. He doesn't make it sound like he was sorry or anything. He doesn't deserve to be called a dad. "

Havasures wrote on Jan 5, 2010 8:23 AM:

" This decision is disgusting! Two years is all this monster gets for what he did to that poor baby. There is no justice served here for the baby. It is my hope that they strip this man of his parental rights and is never allowed near the child again. Something is truly wrong in this country if two years is all that you get for injuring a child, especially to the magnitude that this one was. "

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