Calif. man pleads not guilty to biting off infant son's nose

FAIRFIELD, Calif. - A Northern California man accused of biting off his baby son's nose has pleaded not guilty.

Solano County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Monica Martinez said Monday afternoon that 18-year-old Joshua Cooper of Fairfield pleaded not guilty to charges of child abuse and aggravated mayhem. Police say Cooper bit the nose off his 1-month-old son out of frustration with the infant's crying.

The child-abuse charge carries a penalty of up to 12 years, and the aggravated mayhem charge carries a potential penalty of life in prison.

Martinez said Cooper is being held on $750,000 bail.

Police on Thursday found the month-old boy bleeding from the face in his family's apartment.

He was listed in stable condition at Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland on Monday. Doctors said he suffered a skull fracture and a brain hemorrhage and that one-third of his nose had been severed.

He was in the custody of Solano County Child Welfare Services.