KIERA LUEVANO - 2 Months (2010) - Bakersfield CA

The father of a 2-month-old baby girl was arrested in connection with her death Monday, but the child's mother says it was a tragic accident and he never meant the baby harm.
Serjio Luevano, 25, was booked on suspicion of murder and assault causing great bodily harm, Kern County Sheriff's Department spokesman Ray Pruitt said. He is being held without bail. Kiera Luevano suffered blunt force trauma and severe bleeding to the brain, Pruitt said. The Sheriff's Department said its investigation established probable cause that her injuries were inflicted by her father. The child's mother, Brandy Arellano, 24, gave this account in an interview: She said Serjio Luevano panicked when Kiera stopped breathing on Oct. 11. He shook her after she didn't respond to CPR or water splashed in her face, the mother said. Arellano said she was at work at the time, but she believes that Serjio Luevano, her fiance, didn't mean to hurt Kiera. "This is his first contact with a newborn baby," Arellano said. "He didn't know what to do." Arellano has three other children -- ages 8, 4, and 3 -- and Serjio Luevano has never injured them in the 18 months they've been dating, Arellano said. He was scared and crying and kept telling Arellano he was sorry as he described what happened with Kiera, she said. "He adored her," she said. Arellano said Serjio Luevano has had drinking problems, but he's never been violent. She said he was a "happy, mushy drunk." He hasn't had a drink since Kiera's death, she said. Serjio Luevano declined an interview request from jail Monday evening. Arellano described Kiera as a very alert, energetic baby who noticed everything. She said strangers often commented about her, and she was so cute you just wanted to pinch her cheeks. Deputies responded to Arellano's house in the 900 bock of Feliz Drive, off Cottonwood Road in southeast Bakersfield, on Oct. 11 for a report of an unresponsive child, Pruitt said. Firefighters also arrived, saw Serjio Luevano holding Kiera in the front yard, and took them inside to give her medical aid. Kiera was taken to Kern Medical Center for emergency treatment and later airlifted to Children's Hospital Central California in Madera. She died Oct. 15. An autopsy three days later found her death to be a homicide, Pruitt said. Serjio Luevano's arraignment has been scheduled for Wednesday, according to the Kern County Sheriff's Department website.

November 2010 article
Man enters not guilty plea to murder, assault charges in death of his baby
A man accused of killing his 2-month-old baby girl pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of second-degree murder and assault on a child resulting in great bodily harm.

Serjio Luevano, 25, is being held on $2 million bail in the death of Kiera Luevano, who suffered blunt force trauma and severe bleeding to the brain, Kern County Sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt has said. An autopsy established her death was a homicide.
Nelson Castro, the attorney representing Luevano, declined to talk about specifics of the case following the arraignment. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 15.

Kiera was injured Oct. 11 and taken first to Kern Medical Center and then airlifted to Children's Hospital Central California in Madera, Pruitt has said. She died Oct. 15.

Brandy Arellano, Kiera's mother and Serjio's fiancee, has said in an interview that Luevano panicked when Kiera stopped breathing and shook her to revive her when she didn't respond to CPR and water splashed in her face

http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x1317409280/Man-enters-not-guilty-plea-to-murder-assault-charges-in-death-of-his-baby

Father gets 25 to life for baby's death
Originally printed at http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/Father-gets-25-to-life-for-babys-death-166159056.html

By KBAK - KBFX - Eyewitness News - BakersfieldNow.com August 14, 2012

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A father was sentenced Tuesday in the death of his 2-month-old daughter.

Serjio Luevano will spend 25 years to life in prison for manslughter and assualt on a child in the October 2010 death of Kiera Luevano.

Luevano claimed Kiera stopped breathing on her own, so he tried to revive her.

"I was told she had damage to the brain caused by the shaking (that) I did while I was trying to get her to respond," Luevano told Eyewitness News during a 2010 jailhouse interview.

"I should have probably called 911 before doing anything," Luevano said at the time. "It probably would have been faster and more helpful."

BakersfieldNow.com - KBAK and KBFX News Bakersfield, California
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/Father-gets-25-to-life-for-babys-death-166159056.html