Dad arrested after son sent to emergency room
Injuries potentially life-threatening, docs say
SANTA FE — Darryl Blakey has the word “Love” tattooed on one of his hands, according to documents from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. Now, what Blakey is accused of doing with his fists has him behind bars and his 8-year-old son in the University of New Mexico Hospital with internal bleeding.
Blakey, 41, is charged with child abuse resulting in great bodily harm after his son complained of stomach pain and having trouble breathing while on the bus to Pablo Roybal Elementary School near Pojoaque on Tuesday morning. He had to be carried off the bus by school officials.
After a 911 call from the school, the boy was taken first to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center here before being transported to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque with cuts to his spleen and liver and internal bleeding.
Emergency room doctors said “the injuries had the potential to be life-threatening,” according to a statement of probable cause for Blakey’s arrest.
The case continues a series of high-profile alleged crimes that have made prevention, reporting and prosecuting child abuse a major issue in New Mexico.
On Aug. 24, 10-year-old Victoria
Martens of Albuquerque,was found dead in her family’s apartment. Police say they believe the little girl was forced to use methamphetamine before being raped and stabbed. Her dismembered and burning body was found in a bathtub. The girl’s mother, her boyfriend, and the boyfriend’s cousin have been charged in connection with the child’s death.
In new Pojoaque case, Santa Fe County jail records show that Blakey remained in custody Wednesday evening on $5,000 bail under the name “Darral Blakey.”
Children, Youth and Families Department spokesman Henry Varela confirmed Blakey’s 8-year-old son and another child from the Blakey household were in CYFD protective custody. He said he couldn’t release the age or gender of the other child or say whether that child showed signs of abuse.
A school nurse who examined the injured boy Tuesday told deputies that he had fresh redness and bruising on his chest and rib area as well as bruising on his shoulder and back, according to Sheriff’s Office documents. At Christus St. Vincent’s, the boy told deputies that Blakey hit him about 10 times in the stomach Tuesday morning and another 10 times in the back as he was trying to go wash his face. The boy said he got his belongings and walked to the bus stop after Blakey beat him.
Blakey was interviewed at the Sheriff’s Office later Tuesday and said, “I beat him” when asked about what happened between him and his son that morning. Blakey said he was mad at the boy for getting in trouble at school and struck him “between 10 and 15 times with an open hand in the chest, back and buttocks area.”
Blakey said he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the beating but said he may have “blacked out” for a few seconds while hitting his son. He acknowledged that the punishment went too far and that he lost control of the situation, according to the Sheriff’s Office arrest statement.
Court records show that Blakey has been charged in New Mexico with only minor traffic violations in the past.