Jury convicts man of assaulting infant

A Springdale, Wash., man was convicted Friday of assaulting his premature infant while the baby was less than 3 months old.

A Stevens County jury found Mark Anthony Conner Jr. guilty of one count of second-degree child assault, but it was unable to reach a verdict on two other counts of second-degree child assault.

Each count pertained to specific broken bones: a leg, an arm and ribs.

Deputy Prosecutor Mark Smith said he hadn’t decided whether to charge Conner again with the counts the jury couldn’t resolve in seven hours of deliberation.

Conner faces a standard-range prison term of three to four years when Superior Court Judge Al Nielson sentences him Nov. 22.

Smith said he had planned to seek an above-standard sentence, but a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision makes that unlikely.

Nielson has taken the position that, unless the Washington Supreme Court provides guidance before the sentencing date, he won’t have authority to issue an above-standard sentence.

Conner and his wife, Katrina Conner, took their son, Landen, to Holy Family Hospital in Spokane on Feb. 8 for treatment of a swollen thigh. Hospital personnel suspected abuse when they found several fractures in various states of healing.

The Conners later admitted having an argument that day, according to court documents.

Spokesman-Review files show the Conners applied for a marriage license in July, and Landen was born prematurely on Nov. 2. The child weighed 2 pounds, 12 ounces, and was 15 inches long.

The Conners denied injuring the child. Both parents suggested the injuries could have been caused when they repeatedly tripped over cords to a monitor attached to the baby to sound an alert if he stopped breathing. Katrina Conner was not charged.