Jerry Stark, 34, from Tennessee, faces domestic assault charges after allegedly biting his infant son's cheek and squeezing him tightly at a Memphis chicken wing restaurant. Witnesses intervened to rescue the child, who sustained a noncritical facial injury. Stark is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
Police responded to a call around 1 a.m. at Memphis Wings, located at 2661 North Hollywood Street, where Jerry Stark was screaming and panicking while holding his infant son. According to an arrest affidavit, Stark had first been seen at nearby Shell and Marathon gas stations seeking help before running into the restaurant. There, he got down on the kitchen floor and squeezed the child tightly until the boy turned blue, patrons say. Bystanders took the baby away from him, but not before Stark allegedly bit the infant on the cheek, with one witness shouting, “The baby's skin is on his lips and cheek!” as captured in Facebook footage that has over 1 million views. Another witness wrote on Facebook, “Seeing that baby face really broke my heart. I can't even sleep thinking about that baby. The devil is busy.” The child's mother told investigators that Stark had pushed her out of a moving vehicle earlier and drove off with their son. Stark claimed inside the restaurant that his family was trying to kill him and he needed help escaping them. Paramedics treated the infant at a local hospital for a noncritical facial injury. Stark was booked into Shelby County Jail on a charge of domestic assault causing bodily harm. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday morning.