Baby is on life support as caregiver remains jailed

A 22-year-old man remains jailed after a baby was left in his care June 8 and is now on life support, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

The baby was in good health when his mother, 21, left him with Garyon Dantoin Gaston Sr. after he dropped her off at work about noon, his arrest report said. She said he had no known medical issues prior to this. The baby, whose name and age were redacted in the report, was in medical distress when a rescue team transported him to the hospital about eight hours later.

A Child Protection Team reported he "suffered numerous injuries to include broken bones, bruises and bleeding indicative of severe abuse," the report said.

Gaston, whose relationship with the mother was redacted, told officers he was listening to music while the child and a 22-month-old sibling were on an adult bed in their apartment, the report said. He said he last saw the baby drinking from his bottle, then checked later when he heard the two children making noise and found the baby "spewing milk."

Investigators said the suspect's description of events is inconsistent with the injuries on the baby, and he was arrested the next day.

Gaston is behind bars on $250,000 bail on an aggravated child-abuse charge, according to jail records.