June 16, 1999
Man sentenced to 3 years for brain damage to infant
A Fremont man who previously had pleaded guilty to second-degree felony child endangering was sentenced to three years in the Lorraine Correctional Facility by Judge Michael Kelbley and remanded into custody Tuesday.
Joshua Gray, 20, out of anger or frustration, threw his girlfriend's then 15-month-old son, Austin Prenzlin, into a coffee table last December. The child was crying and Gray was unable to quiet him. The boy suffered multiple skull fractures and brain damage, the severity of which is still undetermined, County Prosecutor Ken Egbert said.
The incident occurred in the Clinton Township apartment of Heather Prenzlin, the boy's mother.
Gray apologized to the Prenzlin family before being sentenced.
Heather Prenzlin is awaiting trial on a third-degree felony child endangering charge since she waited more than 18 hours before taking her son to the hospital. She was reportedly afraid her child would be taken from her.
Austin had been removed from Prenzlin's custody for two days once before, due to injuries found on the child last October.