FROM STAFF REPORTS

CALERA – A 3-month-old, who was allegedly assaulted Aug. 25 by a Calera man, passed away Sept. 11.

According to a release from the Calera Police Department, the infant boy was being treated at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham before his death.

While the infant was in his care, Tremain Vantes Gates allegedly “slammed (the child) into (the) corner of the wall and threw (him) to (the) hard floor of the residence,” according to court records.

The child’s mother returned to the residence, located at the 300 block of Sumner Drive in Calera, on the morning of Aug. 26 to find the child “not acting like his normal self,” as he could only open one eye, and was acting extremely lethargic and whimpering in an atypical fashion, according to court records.

The woman took her child to Shelby Baptist Medical Center, and the child was lifeflighted to Children’s Hospital, according to court records. Physicians determined the child had a fractured skull.

Gates was arrested Aug. 29 and charged with domestic violence and first-degree assault charges. He was held on a $1 million bond in the Shelby County Jail.

Since the police received notification the infant passed away, the initial charges are now being investigated as a homicide, the release stated.