Sandusky man takes plea deal in injured baby case

SANDUSKY — Marquis Winston, a city resident accused of seriously injuring an infant under his care in May, accepted a plea deal late last month.Attorneys recommend Winston, 23, serve just under five years in prison in line with the plea deal, according to court documents. A sentencing hearing is set for May 25.Winston is believed to have caused critical injuries to the 5-month-old daughter of his then-girlfriend, police said in May. Doctors at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland treated the girl, Asana, for severe head injuries.Asana's mother, Aariona Adcock, said on Friday that her daughter remains significantly affected by the incident. She said Asana is blind and suffers a hearing impairment. And although Asana reached her first birthday in December, Adcock said, she cannot yet walk, crawl or hold her head up.Winston initially told investigators that the girl had fallen off a couch while sleeping, police said. He later changed that story to suggest that he accidentally bumped the baby's head against a bed post and a portion of a bed frame.Lt. Dana Newell, of the Sandusky Police Department, told the Sandusky Register in May that these accounts did not add up given the extent of the baby's injuries.Winston has been in nearly continuous custody since his arrest in May, according to jail records.A grand jury had indicted him in June on felonious assault and endangering children. Through the plea deal, he pleaded guilty one count of attempted endangering children, a lesser amended charge, and two counts of obstructing official business that were filed by a bill of information in March. These latter charges imply that Winston misled law enforcement during the course of their investigation, according court documents.Adcock said she is in agreement with the sentencing recommendation, as is indicated in court documents. The sentencing recommendation specifically calls for Winston to serve four years and 11 months in prison.More from Erie County Court of Common PleasReach reporter Nicki Gorny at gorny@sanduskyregister.com and follow her on Twitter at @Nicki_Gorny.Marquis Winston