Man charged with felony child abuse

A Mountain Home man is due back at the Elmore County Courthouse to face charges of felony child abuse.

Joshua T. Nelson, 24, was arrested by Mountain Home police July 1 after he allegedly inflicted injuries on an 11-month-old child. The relationship between Nelson and the child was not immediately disclosed by authorities.

Nelson, a senior airman, is an avionics technician assigned to the 366th Component Maintenance Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base.

According to the criminal complaint filed by the county prosecutor's office, Nelson stands accused of wrenching the child from his chest and slamming the infant to the ground June 28. The child allegedly suffered a broken leg during the assault, the complaint added.

Nelson was originally due in court for a preliminary hearing on Monday. However, that hearing was moved to Aug. 26.

The felony child abuse case is one of two dealing with airmen from the local Air Force base. A preliminary hearing for Richard Laubach is currently scheduled to begin Aug. 16.

Laubach is accused of killing Joseph "Joey" Graham at the family's residence in Mountain Home back in March. He was originally charged with one count of child endangerment, but those charges were later amended to first-degree murder by the county prosecutor's office.