Sha’ka Greenwood, 29, of High Ridge has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of abusing a 4-month-old girl, according to court records.
The jury handed down the guilty verdict on July 10, and on Sept. 11, Jefferson County Div. 5 Circuit Judge Victor J. Melenbrink sentenced Greenwood to 12 years in prison.
However, Greenwood is appealing the decision through the Eastern District Court of Appeals. A request to stay the sentence during the appeal process was denied, court documents indicate.
Greenwood was found guilty of injuring his live-in girlfriend’s daughter on Sept. 16, 2016, while he was taking care of the baby at a High Ridge home. Greenwood called 911 that day and reported that the baby was not responsive, the probable-cause statement said.
The baby initially was taken to SSM St. Clare Hospital in Fenton but then was transported by helicopter to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, where testing revealed she had “suffered trauma to her brain” consistent with “shaken baby syndrome.” The baby could not breathe on her own and was placed on a ventilator, the report said.
During the investigation, Greenwood told police he was playing video games and the baby started crying, so he bounced her on his knee in an effort to quiet her. He said the baby, however, began to cry louder, so he pleaded with her “to shut up” and bounced her even harder, according to the report.
Greenwood demonstrated with a doll how he had bounced the baby, and the reenactment showed the doll’s head “violently moving up and down.” He also demonstrated how he held the child’s wrists to her side while he bounced her, which increased the infant’s head movement. Eventually, Greenwood admitted to police that the baby’s head injuries were “a direct result of his actions,” the report said.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Travis D. Partney handled the case.
“We are happy with the guilty verdict,” Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Trisha Stefanski said.