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2 women arrested for tossing baby back and forth 'like a toy'

The women in Florida threw the baby back and forth over a concrete street, swung it upside down, and shook the child by the ankles, police said.
2 women arrested for tossing baby back and forth 'like a toy'
Posted at 1:33 PM, Sep 19, 2023
and last updated 2023-09-19 15:17:01-04

Two women were arrested in Florida after aggressively handling a baby and tossing it back and forth "like a toy," according to police.

The incident happened near a bar in Daytona Beach around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. 

The Daytona Beach Police Department responded to the scene near the Coyote Ugly Saloon and were told by witnesses that 20-year-old Sierrah Newell and 19-year-old Brianna Lafoe were "aggressively handling the child," "throwing him in the air" and "flipping him upside down," according to an affidavit obtained by Scripps News.

In one instance, customers at the bar and other witnesses confronted Lafoe. While holding the baby in one hand, Lafoe grabbed and struck a witness who was recording the incident, while screaming threats, the affidavit said. 

Newell was on crutches and threatened to hit bystanders.

Police were able to confirm abuse of the baby from video taken by the witness who was struck. Police said the daunting footage showed the baby aggressively swung up and down, shaken by the ankles, and thrown back and forth across a 4-foot distance over a concrete street, the affidavit said. 

The child was taken to a local hospital with red marks on its back. X-ray results showed signs of a possible broken arm. 

Police noted that both women were intoxicated despite being under the legal drinking age.

Police have not disclosed the relationship between the women and the baby. 

Both women face child abuse charges. Lafoe is also facing a misdemeanor battery charge and being held on $3,500 bond. Jail records show Newell has been released, reports say.


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