Man Charged With Punching 5-Year-Old In Face

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Daytona Beach, FL - A Daytona Beach man is in the Volusia County Jail, charged with aggravated child abuse on a 5-year-old child.  DBPD officers responded to a call Sunday evening (December 16th) just after 9 p.m.to a home in the 200 block of Ontario Court. The mother of the child's boyfriend told officers that Eric Lamar had the boy over the weekend, bringing him back to the residence about 6 p.m. on Sunday.  The boyfriend said the boy was missing two teeth in the front of his mouth.  When he questioned Lamar, he was told that the boy slipped and fell on his face. Upon examination, the child's left cheek was found to be swollen, two teeth missing and a laceration on the inside of his upper lip. The injuries were not consistent with a slip and fall.  The boy told officers that Lamar pushed him to the ground in the street and hit him in the face with a closed fist. Officers went to a home in the 1600 block of Wimberly Circle, which belongs to Lamar's grandmother.  When officers arrived at the home, they immediately arrested Lamar and read him his rights.  When questioned, Lamar told them that the boy had fallen.  Upon further questioning, Lamar changed his story, saying the boy hit his face on a stump in the lawn. Lamar remains in jail on a $5,000 bond.