EVERETT — Brian Perez Reyes failed as a father.
He should have kept his infant son safe, but instead Perez Reyes violently shook the boy, causing nerve damage that led to fatal brain damage, a judge said Thursday.
“Only you, no one else, could have done that,” Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Michael Downes said.
Daniel Levi Perez Reyes died June 29, 2013. He was brain dead when he was brought into an emergency room the day before. He had been left alone with his father while his mother was at work. Perez Reyes told detectives the boy fell out of his arms when he tripped.
The child didn’t die from falling three or four feet, Downes said.
“That did not happen,” he said.
Perez Reyes was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison.
He faced up to 8.5 years under the standard range. But Downes had ruled that Daniel’s age made him a particularly vulnerable victim. That opened the door for a much lengthier prison sentence.
“It’s hard to imagine a more vulnerable victim than a 2-month-old child in the arms of a parent,” Downes said.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Jarett Goodkin recommended a 14-year sentence, saying that the defendant hasn’t shown any remorse. He withheld information about his son’s injuries as doctors tried to save the boy’s life, Goodkin said.
“We won’t know what Daniel Perez Reyes could have been, what his life could have been because his father took it from him,” the deputy prosecutor said.
Perez Reyes, 24, declined to make any comments Thursday.
His lawyer told the judge that Perez Reyes was nervous and was maintaining his right to appeal. Perez Reyes was convicted of first-degree manslaughter at a bench trial last month.
Daniel’s mother told the judge Thursday that she has known Perez Reyes for four years and he never showed signs of violence.
“It doesn’t make sense to me,” she said.
Downes concluded at the bench trial that evidence showed that Perez Reyes was told multiple times that he was too rough with the child.
Several people, mainly relatives, wrote letters on behalf of Perez Reyes, saying he was a good dad. He has another child with a different woman.
The judge Thursday said he meant no disrespect to the letter writers but questioned their measure of a good father. A good father protects his children, Downes said.
“You were obligated to care for him, safely and lovingly and you failed,” the judge said.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley
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