Woman avoids jail for her child’s death in Minneapolis
(Courtesy: MGN/Pixabay)
A woman was sentenced to serve three years of supervised probation and one year at the workhouse after being convicted of two counts of endangering a child.
The charges stem from her 2-year-old boy’s death in the spring of 2022. Police also found a four-month-old baby with severe injuries when they responded to her apartment.
Navonna Latina West, 27, was given a stay of imposition in Hennepin County Court that will bring her convictions to misdemeanors if she completes probation, according to court documents. The judge also ruled she must take a parenting class within six months and get a mental health care provider.
Her son, 2-year-old Ona’Je Prince Sincere Jackson, was found not breathing when police responded to an apartment near 24th Street East and Oakland Ave. in Minneapolis back in May of 2022.
Police reported seeing multiple injuries on the child’s body, “including bruising and scratches.” He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
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His four-month-old brother was also found to have several injuries, including multiple rib fractures, fluid in his abdomen, bruising, possible burn and chemical burn marks, and blood in his right eye. Tests also show he was exposed to fentanyl.
The complaint says West “either attempted to deny or minimize the injuries to her children.”
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After being told her son had died, West “again stated that she was essentially the only one [who] had access to her boys but continued to claim the injuries to both victims were from them being sick,” the complaint states.
Investigators also interviewed three witnesses who said they saw West striking her children. One witness also said saw Jackson eating cigarette ashes and that West “thought it was funny.”