A 23-year-old Sacramento man has been arrested in Oregon in connection with the Nov. 9 death of a 3-year-old Natomas boy.
Joseph Skates, who lived with the boy's mother in a Zurlo Way apartment, was arrested in Medford, Ore., last week on suspicion of homicide, said Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong. He awaits extradition.
Detectives believe Skates inflicted "major head trauma" upon Manuel Maciel on Nov. 7, Leong said, but he would not say how.
Manuel died two days later in UC Davis Medical Center.
Police had been called to the family's residence before, Leong said, but not for anything involving the boy.
Authorities were first alerted to Manuel's injuries the morning of Nov. 6, during a California Highway Patrol traffic stop.
The officer pulled over a car after its driver crossed double lines, a CHP spokeswoman previously told The Bee.
The boy's grandmother was a passenger in the car, and her boyfriend was driving, the spokeswoman said.
They told the officer they were heading to the Zurlo Way apartment for a medical emergency. They said someone already had called 911, but the officer could find no record of the call, according to the CHP.
The officer followed the car to the apartment, where the grandmother was met outside by somebody carrying the boy. The officer called for medical aid, and the boy was taken to the medical center.
Meanwhile, a Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District captain at the scene had concerns about the boy's injuries and asked for police to respond, a city Fire Department spokesman told The Bee.
Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.
