BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
Millbrook resident Marterrius C. Moore, 22, appeared in court this morning on charges of Aggravated Child Abuse. In his first appearance before Judge Glenn Goggans, Moore was explained the charges against him. He was represented by Attorney David Vickers.
Moore is accused of severely abusing and injuring his two-month-old son who remains hospitalized with multiple injuries and is in serious condition.
Moore’s bond was set at $10 Million Cash, and he has remained in the Elmore County Jail since his arrest on Monday of this week.
His defense attorney Vickers argued that the bond should be lowered as $10 Million is excessive and unconstitutional. Chief Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson argued against that, and the bond remains at $10 Million.
Only one other case in the 19th Judicial District has ever carried that amount. It relates to the alleged rape several years ago of a five-year-old girl in Millbrook by her mother’s boyfriend. That case has not yet gone to court.
“My argument was that (Moore) has a prior Failure To Appear on a traffic case in the past, where he failed to show up for court,” Robinson said. He said that he asked the judge to take several things into consideration in this case, and urged him to maintain the high bond.
Those arguments were the violent nature of the offense, and the victim is a helpless child. The two-month-old infant sustained brain, arm, rib, and ankle injuries which were discovered by medical personnel once he was finally taken for medical help.
“Trained medical staff said that these injuries did not happen simultaneously. It looks like a systematic pattern of abuse. Aggravated Child Abuse is a Class A felony. This is the exact reason why in 2016 I pushed for Winston’s Law and it passed.”
Robinson said a Defendant should not be rewarded when it comes to sentencing, simply because a child victim lives.
If found guilty, Moore could face a sentence of 10 to 99 years, which is the same for a murder charge.
Moore will be back in court Nov. 4 for a preliminary hearing.
Marterrius C. Moore, 22, who was first arrested Monday.
Below is the original press release from Millbrook Police Chief P.K. Johnson:
On Sunday, October 24, 2021, Millbrook police were notified by Children’s Hospital staff that they were treating a 2-month old child suffering from severe head trauma. The child, Jamarion C. Moore, had been airlifted from to Baptist East, having been brought in for treatment.
The child’s father, later identified as Marterrius C. Moore, a 22-year-old Millbrook resident, stated to Children’s Hospital staff and later police officers that he dropped the infant on Tuesday, October 19, 2021. While being treated, it was discovered that the child had suffered multiple injuries to both its head and body, to include multiple fractured bones.
After conferring with medical staff from Children’s Hospital, the extent of the child’s injuries was discovered and it was determined that the parent’s statement, as to how the child became injured, was implausible. Detectives from the Millbrook Police Department conducted an interview with Mr. Moore, during which he admitted to injuring the child on several occasions due to the child’s excessive crying.
Moore was placed under arrest, being charged with Aggravated Child Abuse, which is a Class A Felony due to the age of the victim.
“This case both breaks my heart and sickens me. In my 33 years in law enforcement, I’ve seen too many horrible things to speak of. Things you can’t erase from memory,” Chief Johnson said.
“Things you don’t speak of and things you don’t go home and share with your family. I don’t care how many horrible things we see; you never get acclimated to seeing children or the elderly abused like this. And if you do, it’s most definitely time to consider retirement. I have no words to describe an individual that would intentionally cause harm to a child.
“As a parent and grandparent, my prayers are with this and all children that are victims of abuse. I appreciate the job done by the medical staff at Children’s Hospital, as well as that of our officers and investigators that responded to and that are working this case. I can assure you that we’ll do everything in our power to present the best case that we can to the District Attorney’s Office to get justice for the horrible treatment that this child had to endure.”
About Winston’s Law
Winston’s Law was named for an Elmore County Child that suffered horrific abuse. He was found unresponsive and with severe injuries in the backseat of a vehicle in Florida. He was discovered by deputies under a blanket with multiple injuries, and a bag was beside him with loaded handguns.
Winston’s mother, Hallee McLeod and her boyfriend, Scott Hicks, were both found guilty.
The law now on the books makes aggravated child abuse for a child under six a Class A felony. This is equivalent to a possible murder charge. The sentence could carry up to 99 years or life. Previously, before Winston’s Law, aggravated child abuse carried a Class B or C felony, with a maximum sentenced of just 20 years.
