DEMYTRE RASHAAD PENDLETON Jr - 2 yo - Charlotte NC

A man is in jail charged in connection with
the death of a toddler who died Friday morning after suffering a severe
injury earlier this week.

James Gregory Cleveland, 25, is charged with
felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury, and murder in
relation to the death of 2-year-old Demytre Rashaad Pendleton Jr.

The child died Friday morning at Carolinas Medical Center-Main in Charlotte.

According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police
Department, Demytre's mother took her son to Carolinas Medical
Center-Pineville on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Due to the severity of the boy's
injuries, he was airlifted to CMC-Main.

An examination at the hospital revealed
injuries in which hospital staff believed were serious enough to involve
police. On Wednesday, CMPD detectives with the Youth Crimes Unit were
called to CMC to investigate how the child was injured.

Demytre died at the hospital early Friday morning as a result of his injuries.

This latest incident, however, is not the first time the child has ended up in the hospital due to a severe injury.

Officers were called to CMC-Main on August
24, 2011, at 10:24 p.m. after Demytre was admitted with a skull fracture
and several bruises which police deemed possibly consistent with a
fall.

At that time, detectives with the CMPD's Youth Crimes Unit were assigned to the case.

The child was treated and released from CMC-Main while detectives continued to investigate.
Following
Demytre's death on Friday, CMPD Homicide Unit detectives charged James
Gregory Cleveland in connection with the child's death. Cleveland is
being held at the Mecklenburg County Jail without bond.

Police said Cleveland is a friend of Demytre's mother and he is not related to the toddler.

If you have information about this incident,
call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a Homicide Unit Detective or
call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
http://www.wbtv.com/story/15428149/man-charged-with-murder-in-toddlers-death

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A Charlotte mother was arrested in connection with her 2-year-old son’s death, police said.Ariacna Romero was charged with accessory after the fact after her son, Demytre Pendleton, died two weeks ago.Romero’s friend, James Cleveland is charged with murder in the death of Pendleton.Police have not said how the child’s mother is connected to the case.This case is just one of four child abuse cases that Charlotte Mecklenburg police have investigated in the last two weeks.Brett
Loftis with the Council for Children’s Rights said we should not be
shocked by these cases. “Child abuse is an epidemic. It happens every
single day in this community,” he said.Loftis said there are more
than 10,000 cases of child abuse or neglect reported in Mecklenburg
County each year and he said many more go unreported.Just this
week, two 3-month-old girls were found to have suffered head trauma,
bruising and hemorrhaging caused by their father, police said.Also, a teenage father was charged with shaking his infant child this week.A
recent study suggests that the bad economy has increased child abuse
but Loftis said it’s everybody’s responsibility to reverse that trend.“These are kids who cannot protect themselves,” he said. “They are babies and they need someone to stand up and protect them.”
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/29282119/detail.html

A 21-year-old Charlotte woman has been charged with being an
accessory after the fact in connection with the alleged child abuse
death of her two-year-old son.


Ariacna Janet Romero was arrested late Thursday,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said. She was being held Friday morning in
Mecklenburg County jail under $5,000 bond. The accessory after the fact
charge is a felony.

The case began on Aug. 24, when police say two-year-old Demytre
Rashaad Pendleton, Jr. - who went by "DJ" - was brought to Carolinas
Medical Center with a skull fracture and bruises. The injuries were
"deemed possibly consistent with a fall," a CMPD official said, but
detectives were assigned to investigate the case.

Two weeks later, on Sept. 7, police say Romero brought Demytre
back to CMC-Pineville with fresh injuries. He was flown by helicopter to
CMC-Main, where he died.

James Gregory Cleveland, 25, was arrested and charged with felony
child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury and murder. Police said he
was a friend of Romero's, and not the boy's father. He is being held in
Mecklenburg jail with no bond.

Police haven't said what led them to arrest Romero and charge her
in connection with the case. North Carolina criminal records show she
hasn't been arrested previously in the state.

At the time of his death, a relative of Demytre's father said the boy was "a happy little fella." -

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/09/23/2632172/woman-charged-with-being-accessory.html#ixzz1YqCihqhl

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A police search warrant has revealed new details in connection to a toddler’s death.James Cleveland is charged with murder and child abuse in the death of 2-year-old Demytre Pendleton Jr.Police
seized Cleveland’s iPhone and according to the search warrant,
Cleveland lied to detectives and said the child’s mother was at home at
the time the toddler became ill.The warrant states that Cleveland texted Aricana Romero while she was at work and said the boy was vomiting.Pendleton died a few days later.Romero is charged with accessory after the fact, but police have not said why.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/29510157/detail.html