Dad accused of smacking son with a snack (When Beef Jerky Is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will etc.)

Staten Island Advance ^ | 4/29/04 | Aaron Smith

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

A Tompkinsville man accused of beating his 10-year-old son with a 15-inch stick of beef jerky was charged yesterday with felony assault, and could face up to seven years in prison.

Esteban Palafox, 34, of Corson Avenue, was charged with whipping his son with the jerky stick because he had missed school.

Palafox, who lives above the Mexico Azteca Grocery & Deli II, allegedly yelled at his son at 10 a.m. on Saturday and then went downstairs to obtain the jerky from the deli.

According to court papers, Palafox went back upstairs to his apartment and "repeatedly" hit the boy "on the upper thighs with a dangerous weapon -- to wit the beef jerky -- creating discoloration, bruising and substantial pain."

According to a published report, the child's mother -- Palafox's ex-wife -- took her son to the hospital, which notified child welfare officials about the boy, Esteban Jr.

Palafox did not return a telephone message from the Advance.

A worker at Mexico Azteca said the charges are false.

The worker, who did not provide his name, said Palafox was mad at the child for missing three days of school, but did not actually hit him.

"By the time he grabbed the thing, the kid was already on the floor screaming," said the worker.

The worker identified the alleged weapon as a 50-cent, 1.12-ounce Slim Jim, advertised as "The Hulk-Sized Stick." The label on the Slim Jim features a picture of the Incredible Hulk howling in anger.

"How are you going to hurt a kid with that?" said the deli worker.

According to a court document, Palafox owns the deli, though the employee said this is not true and displayed a food service license in another man's name.

Palafox was charged yesterday in Stapleton Criminal Court with second-degree assault, a class D violent felony with a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, as well as third-degree assault, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree and endangering the welfare of a child.

He was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to appear in Supreme Court on June 2.

This is the second time in the last few weeks in which food was allegedly used in a felony assault.

Augusto Cafiero, a former chef at Villa Monte Restaurant in Arden Heights, was fired from his job and charged with second-degree assault on March 16, after he allegedly threw boiling-hot pasta at a waiter.

[cake_crumb]

How much damage can one actually DO with a piece of beef jerky?

[cyborg]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1126495/posts

As much damage as the ex-wife can think of IMHO.

[cake_crumb]

Thanks. There now.

[Lee Heggy]

The horror! He could have at least used something less traumatizing than a stick of dried beef with a picture of the Incredible Hulk on it....asparagus or string cheese would have been more appropriate.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Oops! Sorry; didn't see it'd already been posted. (I searched for it under the title listed, above.)

[Dutchgirl]

Don't make me angry...

[cyborg]

no prob... I was scanning the NY Post hoping to fall asleep early. Didn't work :)

[CrazyJoeDivola]

A stick of Jerky is much better than the 3 inch wide leather belt my Dad used on me growing up.

[sticker]

Two things wrong with this report:(1) Slim Jims are not jerky (2) They are not deadly unless you eat them.

[cyborg]

If the father intended to be abusive, he could done much more. Sounds to me like frustration. If these people don't get why a parent would be upset with a child skipping school, then I have no home for people. A pretty common thread among immigrants is that they want to make a better life for their children. Education is first and foremost the path they see to the better life. Any threat to getting an education is dealt with severely. I know this from my own experience with my parents and lots of other kids, esp. Koreans,Jamaicans and Africans here in New York.

[new cruelty]

Esteban Palafox...

ooooh. He was good in LOTR!

[cavtrooper21]

Liberal "its good for the CHILDREN" ping.
PLuuuezze...


A Slim Jim.
Sounds like junior and mommy have a bone or two to pick with daddy.

[Welsh Rabbit]

2) They are not deadly unless you eat them.

They have their good points. They're chocked full of preservatives. By eating Slim Jims a few times a week, I'll save my family a fortune on embalming fluid when I die.

[Dacus943]

"Dad accused of smacking son with a snack"

Sadly, my step-father use to do the same thing.

He'd start me off with a CLUB sandwich, and for dessert, let me have a few Jawbreakers!

[cake_crumb]

LOL

[ClearCase_guy]

Wild Child gets Snack Smack; was Dad Bad?

[Marie]

Sheesh! I got the belt when I was a kid, too. I have a friend who's broken more than one wooden spoon over her kids' butts. Then there's the rubber spatula. Wooden boards with holes in 'em, wooden dowels, the ol' fashioned whipping branch... Jerkey is NOTHING!

[cavtrooper21]

Ooops...
Ping

[Docbarleypop]

the only true beating i got was when i laughed at my mother when she broke the wooden spoon.