Bail set for man accused of biting, beating toddler

A Las Vegas judge set bail at $300,000 Thursday for a man accused of biting and severely beating a 3-year-old boy.

Anthony Benjamin Castro, 21, has a history of violence and even threatened the child’s mother after he was booked at the Clark County Detention Center, according to prosecutor Jim Sweetin.

Castro faces charges of child abuse with substantial bodily harm and child abuse neglect.

Officers were called about 1:45 p.m. Monday to an apartment complex on the 4200 block of West Viking Road, near West Flamingo and South Arville Street, where they were told the boy was bleeding and losing consciousness.

His mother, Ashley Miranda, had been living with Castro in her mother’s apartment for a month, police said.

The boy was taken to University Medical Center with “very severe injuries,” according to Sweetin, though the boy was expected to survive.

Medical staff at the hospital told detectives that the boy suffered multiple injuries, including a right orbital fracture, bruising all over his face and body, and a deformity to the back of his head, police said. He had blood in his urine and in his ear.

The toddler had been left in Castro’s care Monday, though Miranda considered taking the boy to a babysitter because Castro was upset the boy had broken his cigarettes, according to a police report.

While at work, Miranda received text messages from Castro telling her that the boy had fallen.

Miranda told police Castro had a “bad temper.” She said her relationship with Castro, which began in March, had a history of domestic abuse. She said Castro was arrested in Indiana during a September incident when he “banged” her head against a wall, the report stated.

After his arrest on the child abuse charges, Castro tried to persuade Miranda not to testify against him. During a call from jail he told her, “When I get out, I’m coming looking for you,” according to Sweetin.

The prosecutor called Castro “violent” and “dangerous,” requesting a $600,000 bail.

Castro’s appointed public defender Santino Bonaventure asked the judge for $50,000 bail.

In setting bail at $300,000, Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Diana Sullivan said Castro was a flight risk and ordered him to have no contact with Miranda or the boy.

Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker.