Police in Northern California arrested an 18-year-old Fairfield man Thursday who they say bit off his infant son’s nose after becoming frustrated with the baby’s incessant crying.

The month-old boy was taken to Oakland Children’s Hospital, where doctors determined that the baby also suffered a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage.

The child is in stable condition, said Troy Oviatt of the Fairfield Major Crimes Unit.

Police were called to child’s home early Thursday by the baby’s hysterical 17-year-old mother, who reported that the baby was bleeding from the nose, Oviatt said. Doctors said about a third of the infant’s nose had been severed.


Police conducting an investigation determined that Joshua Cooper, 18, of Fairfeld, had bitten off the baby’s nose. Cooper was arrested on suspicion of child cruelty and aggravated mayhem.

Fairfield Police Sgt. Jausiah Jacobsen said late Thursday that Cooper was still in the Solano County Jail.



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catherine.saillant@latimes.com