Conflicting evidence limits sentence in baby's death

District Judge Donald Mosley Wednesday sentenced Lorenzo Garcia to 16 months in prison before Garcia would be eligible for parole. Garcia has already served 16 months awaiting trial, meaning he may not have to serve any additional time.

Garcia, 34, was charged in the January 1997 death of 5-month-old Tanner Mead. Faced with charges of child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily harm and voluntary manslaughter, he entered the type of plea that required him to admit only that prosecutors could prove their case against him.

Both Garcia and the boy's mother, Cindy Mead, swore he didn't hurt the baby.

Defense attorney Shane Emerick claimed the injuries to the baby could have been caused by an aunt dropping the child.

But prosecutor Douglas Herndon said the infant died of shaken baby syndrome, in which a child is violently shaken.

Mosley said he didn't know who or what to believe, and he recognized the 16-month sentence in the baby's death would likely be unpopular.

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