The little boy in the following articles was the son of a guy I went to high school with. It's horrible.

Man held in 4-year-old's beating death
By Lisa Roose-Church • daily press & argus • April 14, 2010

The father of a former Livingston County man held in connection to the beating death of his girlfriend’s 4-year-old boy said drugs are responsible for his son’s uncharacteristic behavior.


The Genesee County prosecutor’s office has ordered additional investigation into whether Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes, 24, is responsible for the weekend beating that killed Dominick Calhoun at his family’s apartment in Pinehurst Apartments in Argentine Township.


“What he did was not him,” Brandon Hayes’ father, Arnold Hayes, said Tuesday. “The drugs did that.”


Brandon Hayes’ criminal history includes a 2005 conviction for possession of analogues, similar in chemical composition to controlled substances.


Argentine Township Police Chief Daniel Allen said Tuesday that officers found the 4-year-old boy lying on the floor of a bedroom at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday at an apartment in the 9000 block of Harper Street after the boy’s paternal grandfather reported the possible beating.


The boy appeared to have been beaten with fists and kicked, Allen said. The beating took place throughout the weekend, he added.


“He was beaten from head to toe,” the chief said, commenting that this is one of the worst cases of child abuse he’s seen in his decades in law enforcement.


Dominick's mother, Corrine Baker, tearfully told NBC 25 in Flint that the tragic incident began Friday, when her boyfriend said her son had misbehaved and should not be let out of his room.


Baker said she realized the next day that her son needed medical attention for burns, and she wanted to take him to the hospital, but her boyfriend stopped her because he didn’t want to get into trouble.


“Every time I tried to protect Dominick, he’d rip me off and go back after him. I would just crawl back over to him and try to protect him as best as I could,” Baker told the Flint television station. “I was screaming, screaming at the top of my lungs. The last thing I wanted was for my little boy to die.”


The boy was taken to Hurley Medical Center in Flint, where he was placed on life support, which was stopped Monday. He was pronounced dead at 11:02 a.m. Monday, Allen said.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said Brandon Hayes is being held in custody while officers interview more witnesses.


“We need the autopsy and some other forensic materials,” Leyton added, noting that he will announce a decision about charges in the case at 10 a.m. Thursday at his office in the Genesee County courthouse.


Police also arrested the boy’s 25-year-old mother, who was found battered and bruised next to her son whom she was trying to comfort. Police have since released the woman.


When asked if the mother was a victim of domestic violence, Allen replied: “She was definitely beaten.” He declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation.


The mother’s injuries were non-life-threatening, Allen said.


The woman’s 8-year-old son also found in the apartment was taken to the hospital as a precaution. He was not injured and was placed into the custody of Child Protective Services.


Arnold Hayes said the allegations are not characteristic of his son, whom he described as a “fun” person. He said his son admitted that he got mixed into the drug culture at age 13.


“This is something we’ve been battling a long time,” he said, ending the telephone interview when a woman in the background told him to make no additional comments.


Allen said this was the first time police had been called to Brandon Hayes’ home, although neighbors have indicated to police that they heard disturbing noises from the apartment in the hours before police arrived.


“People said they heard things and didn’t call police,” Allen said. “That bothers me. The apartment complex is not even half a mile, probably three or four blocks, from the Police Department.”


In addition to Brandon Hayes' conviction for possession of analogues, his criminal record includes served a prison term for resisting police and fleeing police. He was discharged from parole in July.


The family was residing in the Tyrone Woods subdivision prior to their March 30 move to the Pinehurst Apartments, Allen said, quoting documents found in the couple’s home.
Contact Daily Press & Argus reporter Lisa Roose-Church at (517) 552-2846 or at lrchurch@gannett.com.

Link

and another article

This was the first article I saw in my local paper

Charges possible in beating death of boy, 4
Former Tyrone Township man held in custody
April 13, 2010

The Genesee County prosecutor’s office is expected to decide today whether to charge a former Livingston County resident in connection to the beating death of a 4-year-old child.




Argentine Township police said Dominick Calhoun, 4, was found lying on the floor of a bedroom about 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Pinehurst Apartments, 9087 Harper Street, after the boy’s paternal grandfather reported the possible beating.


Argentine Township Police Chief Daniel Allen said the boy was "beaten from head to toe." The beatings took place over two days, and injuries were inflicted by fists and kicks, the chief noted.


Calhoun was taken to Hurley Medical Center in Flint, and placed on life support. He was removed from life support and pronounced dead at 11:02 a.m. Monday.


Police arrested his 25-year-old mother, who was found next to her son and was trying to comfort him, and the mother’s 24-year-old boyfriend, Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes. The mother was later released from custody.


Police said the mother also had visible injuries to her head, face and body.


"She was definitely beaten," said Allen.


Both the mother and her 8-year-old son, who also was found in the apartment, were taken to Hurley Medical Center. The 8-year-old received no injuries, and was taken into Child Protective Services’ custody.


Hayes, the suspect in custody, is not the biological father of either of the boys.


A neighbor told Flint-area media that the 8-year-old indicated the mom’s boyfriend “was stepping” on Calhoun’s head.


“He was stomping on his head, and kicking him in the ribs, punching him in the face,” Patty Brown says the child told her.


Several neighbors reported hearing loud noises coming from the apartment, but no one called the police, Allen said. He encourages residents to call police when they suspect abuse is taking place.


The family had reportedly moved March 30 from Tyrone Township to Argentine Township.


Allen said police had not been called to the Hayes' apartment prior to this incident. However, Michigan Department of Corrections' records show Hayes served prison time for fleeing police and resisting police. His criminal history also includes convictions in Genesee County for possession of analogues.

link

and a facebook page

Justice for Dominick Calhoun

and the monster who did this

Brandon Hayes