Alleged Walmart Parking Lot Baby Salesman Beaten in Jail, Say Cops

SALINAS, Calif. (CBS/AP) Prisoners in Monterey County Jail apparently made clear how they felt about Patrick Fousek's alleged attempt to sell his infant daughter for $25 in a Walmart parking lot - they beat him to a pulp, according to jail officials.

When Fousek and the child's mother, Samantha Tomasini, appeared at an arraignment Friday under heightened security, Fousek sported a badly swollen black eye and stitches to his lip.

Both were seated apart from other inmates in the courtroom.

Sheriff's Cmdr. Mike Richards said inmates in the open dorm where Fousek had been housed jumped him at 10:15 p.m., after the details of his charges were reported on television news. Fousek was taken to a nearby hospital where he was treated for two cracked ribs and multiple injuries to his face, according to the Monterey County Herald.

Fousek and Tomasini are accused of trying to sell their infant daughter to two women Thursday in the parking lot of a Monterey County Walmart. The two women reportedly thought he was joking, but called 911 when he persisted. At one point he even attempted to thrust the baby into their arms, according to the paper.

Police tracked the couple, who fled the parking lot before police arrived, to a house. There, they allegedly discovered the infant living in squalor and Fousek and Tomasini high on methamphetamine. Tomasini allegedly told Child Protective Services that she breast-fed the infant while under the influence, police said Thursday.

The couple entered not guilty pleas through their public defender Friday to felony child endangerment and drug charges.

The felony charges of child endangerment carry a four year mandatory prison sentence. Tomasini is also charged with dissuading a witness, but prosecutor Rolando Mazariegos would not elaborate on that charge, according to the Herald.

Fousek is apparently no stranger to area law enforcement; court records show he has multiple drug-related convictions and has served jail terms for domestic violence and violating restraining orders involving his ex-wife, the Herald reported.

"He's a noted frequent flier with our office," Richards told the paper.

Both are now being held in segregated cells away from the general population.

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