Father puts 5 year old in hospital for leaving chicken out

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BATON ROUGE - A father who was enraged over chicken being left out on the counter punched his 5-year-old son so hard, it gave the child a concussion and left a large hole in the sheet rock of their apartment, arrest records show.

The affidavit of probable cause says 33-year-old Chancey Knighten lost his temper after some chicken was left out on the counter at his residence in the 6600 block of Harry Drive.

The affidavit said Knighten is a father of four children, aged 10, 8, 5, and 3. When he discovered chicken was left out, he questioned the three older children. When no one admitted to the accusation, the defendant hit each of the children on the forehead causing the back of their heads to hit the wall. The defendant did this twice before the 10 and 8 year old told their father it was the 5-year-old. That's when the arrest report shows Knighten punched the 5-year-old so hard, his head knocked a hole in the sheet rock behind him as a result of the impact.

Around that time, the children's mother called the residence, but she couldn't get anyone to respond on the phone. When the mother arrived home, she observed the injuries on the children. She took the boy to Our Lady of the Lake where the 5-year-old started throwing up blood, according to the arrest report. It was determined the child had a concussion caused by head trauma administered by the defendant. The 5-year-old was unable to speak.

When Baton Rouge Police attempted to contact Knighten, he got up and tried to get away. That's when a police K9 was deployed to catch the defendant. Arrest reports show Knighten punched the K9 several times in an effort to injure the dog. The defendant was taken to the hospital where he received stitches from his dog bite.

Neighbors at the scene were in disbelief. At least one told us she thought the commotion came from 4th of July celebrations. She just wishes that the father would have reached out for help if he was feeling overwhelmed.

"Little kids, they are innocent," the neighbor said. "They didn't ask to be in this world. We brought them in here. As parents, it's our responsibility to take care of them."

Knighten was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on two counts of cruelty to juveniles, resisting an officer, battery on a police officer and injuring a police dog. He remained locked up without bond on Monday afternoon.

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