King City babysitter arrested for causing infant brain injury

UPDATE: 9/06/17 6:30pm

A King City woman has been arrested for reportedly shaking an infant until the baby was no longer breathing.

King City Police say, on Tuesday at 2:10 in the afternoon they were called to the 500 block of N. Vanderhurst Avenue after a 4-month-old girl was reportedly not breathing. Officers arrived to find people in the Northgate Apartment complex trying to help the girl. Paramedics transported the infant to Mee Memorial Hospital where she was revived. A cat scan then revealed the baby suffered a serious brain injury.

The child was then airlifted to Stanford University Medical Center where she remains in critical condition. King City Police Chief Robert Masterson says the infant is in a coma.

After an investigation, police say the child was being watched by her neighbor Rosa Ramirez at the time of the incident.

“During the investigation sufficient probable cause was developed indicating Ms. Ramirez was responsible for the injuries to the infant,” said King City Police.

Ramirez was taken into custody Tuesday night. She is being charged with Child Abuse on a Child Under the Age of Five Causing Great Bodily Injury. Bail has been set at $250,000.

Chief Masterson says these incidents are rare in this area, but urges parents to vet who they let watch their children.

PREVIOUS STORY:

A King City woman has been arrested for allegedly shaking an infant until the baby was no longer breathing.

According to the King City Police Department, on Tuesday, officers were called to the 500 block of N. Vanderhurst Avenue after a 4-month-old girl was reportedly not breathing. Officers arrived and found adults at the apartment complex trying to tend to the girl. The infant was taken to Mee Memorial Hospital by paramedics.

After a series of medical diagnostics it had been determined the infant may have sustained a life threatening brain injury consistent to Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Investigators learned that the baby had been watched by 33-year-old Rosa Ramirez, a neighbor of the infant’s parents.

“During the investigation sufficient probable cause was developed indicating Ms. Ramirez was responsible for the injuries to the infant,” said King City Police.

Ramirez was taken into custody on September 5 and booked into the Monterey County Jail. She is charged with child abuse on child under the age of five causing great bodily injury. Bail has been set at $250,000.

KION’s Ashley Keehn has more from police at 5 and 6 p.m.