Uncle pleads guilty in death of 3-year-old girl

Rio Rancho resident faces up to 6 years in prison

A man accused of playing a game that led to the death of his 3-year-old niece pleaded guilty to a felony charge Monday afternoon and faces up to six years in custody.

Jay Chee Hood told police he was playing the “body slam game” with Addelina DeLuna, 3, and his son at a Rio Rancho home in May 2014, according to a criminal complaint. He said he’d f lip the children onto the bed, let them roll off and run back to him to be thrown again. Hood told police that, as the group played, he threw Addelina onto a bed and she bounced onto the floor, hitting her head.

The next day, she died in an Albuquerque hospital, according to court documents.

Hood, 38, pleaded guilty in 13th Judicial District Court to one count of attempted negligent child abuse resulting in death, a second-degree felony which carries a sentence of up to 15 years. Hood initially faced a first-degree felony child abuse count.

His agreement with prosecutors caps his sentence at six years. Judge George Eichwald said a sentencing hearing will likely be held in six to eight weeks.

Prosecutor Jessica Martinez said in court that Hood failed to take the child to a hospital in a timely manner.

“Had he brought her in earlier,” she said, “there’s a good chance she would be alive today.”

After the hearing, Hood’s attorney, Jack Mkhitarian, said that Hood had recently adopted the girl, whose parents were incarcerated.

“It’s a very difficult situation for everyone involved,” Mkhitarian said. “There are no winners in the case.”

Hood told police that he called a Gallup hospital and a nurse hotline, and was told to let the child sleep, according to court documents. It’s not clear from the complaint why he contacted a hospital in Gallup.

About five hours after she hit her head, Hood took an unresponsive but breathing Addelina to a local hospital because she was bleeding from her mouth, according to the criminal complaint.

Mkhitarian said his client simply received bad advice from the nurse hotline.

“It was a worst-case scenario for any parent,” he said.

Addelina was transferred to University of New Mexico Hospital, where she was taken off life support early the next day, according to the complaint. Police were called to the hospital because the girl’s brain was bleeding and doctors held that her injuries were not accidental, according to the complaint.