SGV Man's Conviction Upheld for Assaulting 1-Year-Old Son

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA – A state appeals court panel today upheld a former San Dimas resident's conviction for assaulting his year-old son, who has since undergone numerous skull and brain surgeries.

The three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense's contention that there was insufficient evidence demonstrating that James David Higbee had caused his son's injuries and that jurors should have been instructed on lesser offenses.

Higbee was found guilty of one count each of assault on a child under the age of 8 causing paralysis and child abuse, with jurors finding that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on his son.

In their ruling, the appellate court justices noted that Higbee testified that he did not assault or hurt the boy in any way.

The child's maternal grandmother had dropped the boy off at Higbee's home to visit him on Sept. 27, 2011, according to Deputy District Attorney Deborah Scott.

Higbee subsequently called his mother, who came home after a short trip to the grocery store and noticed that the baby's body seemed limp and a 911 call was made.

The boy was initially taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, where doctors concluded he had suffered two fractures at the back of his skull along with a subdural hematoma on the front left side of his brain, according to the appellate ruling.

The child was subsequently transferred to Loma Linda University Medical Center due to the extensive nature of his injuries.

Doctors called by the prosecution testified that they believed the injuries had occurred shortly before or within hours of when the tot was brought to the hospital, with one of the doctors saying that the boy has developmental delays and a form of paralysis to the right side of his body.

Doctors called on behalf of the defendant countered that the boy's injuries could have resulted from him falling out of his stroller and hitting his head during a family visit to Solvang, and that a subsequent trip to an amusement park where he went on rides, including one in which he hit his head on his mother's chin, could have caused aggravating injuries.

"Where, as here, there is ample, credible evidence supporting the jury's verdict, it is not within our purview to reweigh the evidence or draw inferences in favor of other evidence rejected by the jury," the panel found, noting that the trial testimony includes "substantial evidence" that Higbee caused his son's injuries.

Higbee was sentenced in March 2015 to life in state prison.

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