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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton/Hazleton area ranks 46th fattest nationwide in new report

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Barefoot man caught fleeing from scene of shots fired at car in Wilkes-Barre

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Nearly two years to the day that police found a beaten and bloodied baby girl at a West Hazleton home, a county jury Wednesday determined the 16-month-old&#8217;s mother was guilty of critically injuring the infant in a fit of anger.</p><p>Lourdes M. Rodriguez, 26, of West Hazleton, was convicted on all counts following less than an hour-and-a-half of deliberations. She offered little in the way of a reaction as the jury foreperson read off &#8220;guilty&#8221; to charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment.</p><p>Her bail revoked after the verdict, Rodriguez was led out of the courthouse in shackles pending sentencing.</p><p>According to the affidavit, Rodriguez&#8217;s daughter, Alexis, suffered internal bleeding from lacerations to her liver and spleen, as well as a fracture to her right arm and a fractured right clavicle from the beating she suffered at a home on Madison Avenue in West Hazleton on March 21, 2015.</p><p>Multiple surgeries were performed on the infant over her nearly week-long hospital stay.</p><p>Now 3, Alexis has recovered from her physical injuries, but it remains unknown whether she&#8217;s clear of any long-term cognitive issues, prosecutors said outside the courtroom.</p><p>Rodriguez&#8217;s initial claims that the injuries were caused by the baby&#8217;s then 3-year-old brother, Angel, were contradicted when one of Alexis&#8217; doctors told investigators a child Angel&#8217;s age couldn&#8217;t have delivered such forceful blows.</p><p>That claim, the defense asserted, came from Rodriguez&#8217;s boyfriend, 31-year-old Hiram Colon.</p><p>Jurors heard a text message Colon sent to Rodriguez that said Colon saw &#8220;that little bastard&#8221; jumping on top of Alexis and &#8220;put him in the corner.&#8221;</p><p>Defense attorney Nicole Thompson Lermitte declined to comment after the verdict, but argued earlier Wednesday that prosecutors&#8217; entire case hinged on the words of Colon, whom she described as a man with a history of assault charges that manipulated Rodriguez into doing what he wanted. He ultimately pinned the assault on her once he realized how serious Alexis&#8217; injuries were, Lermitte said.</p><p>&#8220;He was setting it up,&#8221; Lermitte said in her closing Wednesday afternoon. &#8220;He tells them a story that takes them right to (Rodriguez). He&#8217;s familiar with the system. He knows how this works.&#8221;</p><p>Rodriguez initially tried to protect Colon, thinking he could never harm her children, Lermitte said.</p><p>Rodriguez believed Colon when he told her it was Angel that injured Alexis, and when Colon fled from the scene before police arrived, she didn&#8217;t mention his presence because she wanted to spare him from being arrested on unrelated warrants, Lermitte said.</p><p>But Colon, Lermitte told jurors, was &#8220;a manipulator and a liar.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;He manipulated (Rodriguez), he manipulated police, and now he&#8217;s trying to manipulate you,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Prosecutor Jarrett Ferentino, however, argued everything Colon said was supported.</p><p>When Colon &#8220;flipped&#8221; and blamed Rodriguez, Ferentino said, she set her sights on him.</p><p>Colon he was upstairs when he heard banging and a loud scream, Ferentino said in his closing argument. He said Colon next heard Rodriguez yell, &#8220;Shut the f&#8212;&#8212;&#8212; up, Lexie.&#8221; Colon went downstairs and carried the infant upstairs. When Rodriguez followed and tried to come near the child, Alexis tightly gripped Colon out of fear, Ferentino said.</p><p>Ferentino, who tried the case with prosecutor Angela Sperrazza, noted jurors are often tasked with considering the words of people &#8220;in a lot of trouble,&#8221; but Wednesday&#8217;s verdict indicates this jury found Colon&#8217;s testimony believable.</p><p>Rodriguez&#8217;s conviction comes after a guilty plea in June to charges she assaulted Angel the same day Alexis was injured. Police responding to the home to investigate Alexis&#8217; injuries discovered bruises on Angel&#8217;s face. Rodriguez allegedly told police she doesn&#8217;t know how to hit and &#8220;when she gets angry she hits hard,&#8221; according to the affidavit.</p><p>She will be sentenced on both cases on April 27.</p><p><ins>For other local crime stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/crime" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Jury finds mother guilty of assaulting, critically injuring infant daughter