Mom, friend held in killing of baby

The child's mother has been charged with permitting child abuse.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Acquinetta Jackson doesn't know what her year-old grandson could have possibly done to merit a fatal beating.
The Boston Avenue woman sat through the arraignment Friday of Terrance Tate, 21, of Hilton Avenue, who is charged with aggravated murder in the death of Javonte Covington, who died Thursday of injuries authorities believe he suffered at the hands of Tate.
"He couldn't have done nothing that bad, but cry," Jackson said of her infant grandson.
The child's mother, April Ford, 25, of Griffith Street, who originally told authorities that Javonte had fallen down some steps, has been charged in his death as well.
She was arraigned Friday on felony charges of permitting child abuse and endangering children and lodged in Mahoning County Jail with bond set at $35,000.
Tate, who had been in police custody since Thursday facing a pending felonious assault charge in the case, was ordered held with bond set at $150,000. The assault charge was never filed, but the bond has not been changed.
Record of nonviolent crimes
Conviction of aggravated murder carries a sentence of life in prison with parole eligibility after 20 years.
Bret Hartup, assistant city prosecutor, said Tate has an Ohio arrest record for aggravated trespass, receiving stolen property and a drug offense, all since 2004, but none of the crimes involved any violence.
Both Tate and Ford face preliminary hearings at 9:30 a.m. Friday before Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly.
Jackson was clearly angered that Tate was offered any chance to get out of jail.
"He shouldn't even have gotten no bond," she said.
The $150,000 bond "is all that they gave that man for killing my grandson," she said.
Jackson is Javonte's paternal grandmother.
Her son, John Covington, is the infant's father. He is in the state prison system on charges of attempted abduction and aggravated assault involving a woman and won't get out of prison until July.
He needs to be out now to plan his son's funeral, Jackson said.
Police said Jackson's incarceration isn't connected with his relationship with Ford or Javonte.
Police said they were told that Tate and Ford had a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, but Ford described Tate as a friend.
Although she at first said her son was injured in a fall, she later said that Tate had beaten him.
What happened
She took her son to St. Elizabeth Health Center on Wednesday afternoon, and hospital workers told police that the child was unresponsive and his injuries suspicious. He died in the hospital Thursday. The Mahoning County coroner's office said Friday that it has yet to establish an exact time of death.
Authorities said the child may have suffered a series of beatings over a period of weeks.
Jackson said she saw Javonte April 16 and noticed a bruise on his forehead. She said Friday that saw him again April 23 and didn't notice any new bruises at that time. A police report had indicated she had seen new bruises on the 23rd.
Police reports show the emergency room doctor found bruises to the left side of the child's face, the right side of his chest, his shoulders and the middle of his back. The infant also suffered brain damage.