Texas officer's 11-month-old son drowns while he argues with estranged wife, police say

>>Click to see Houston-area parents whose arrests made the news. Raymond Licon Jr., 27, faces charges stemming from the drowning death of his 11-month-old son. >>Click to see Houston-area parents whose arrests made the news. Raymond Licon Jr., 27, faces charges stemming from the drowning death of his 11-month-old son. Photo: El Paso Police Department Photo: El Paso Police Department Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close Texas officer's 11-month-old son drowns while he argues with estranged wife, police say 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

A police officer in El Paso faces charges stemming from the drowning death of his 11-month-old son.

Raymond Licon Jr, 27, allegedly engaged in a text message conversation with his estranged wife June 20 about 8:30 p.m., according to court documents obtained by KXAN. He reportedly placed his son, Azrael, in a bathtub, turned on the water and walked away.

Licon then said he argued with his estranged wife by phone calls and text messages. Cell phone records indicate the call lasted roughly 45 minutes, ending about 9:20 p.m., at which point he called 911.

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That's when he's said to have discovered the child drowned in the tub. Water was reportedly overflowing, and flooded into the second floor from the ceiling. He told police he gave Azrael CPR. The child was later declared dead at a nearby hospital.

Licon, who's worked at the El Paso Police Department two years, is charged with criminally negligent homicide and is booked at the El Paso County Detention Center on $10,000 bond. He's been relieved of his work duties at the police department. (Story continues below.)

"Pure common sense. You don't leave a baby in the bathtub. You just don't do it," Azrael's grandfather, George Montenegro, told CBS. "I'm very angry at the police because they didn't do nothing. This happened a month ago and until today he was arrested. I mean if that would have happened to you or me, I bet you, whatever, we would be in jail the same day."