John Jefferson
Background: The 1300 block of Pine Bluff Street in Paris, Texas where a child was allegedly given gasoline to drink by his father on Aug. 10, 2024 (Google Maps). Inset: Edgar James Bridgemon (Paris Police Department).
A 24-year-old father in Texas is facing an attempted capital murder charge after police say he intentionally gave his 4-month-old son gasoline to drink.
A review of publicly available court records shows Edgar James Bridgemon is also facing a charge of evading arrest. He is currently in detention in Paris, Texas and is being held on a $255,000 bond.
It is unclear if the Paris, Texas, resident has retained an attorney. Paris is around 100 miles northeast of Dallas.
According to a report from local outlet MyParisTexas, deputies with the Paris Police Department arrived at a home on the 1300 block of Pine Bluff Street on Aug. 10 to assist after emergency first responders were already on the scene.
Police said they learned a child there was intentionally given gasoline to drink and that the primary suspect, Bridgemon, had escaped on foot. It is unclear if the child lived at this home.
He didn’t get far, the local outlet reported, noting police caught Bridgemon just a block away and arrested him on the spot.
Officers said he admitted to giving his son the gasoline on purpose and with the intent to kill the 4-month-old.
“Bridgemon admitted to having given the infant gasoline to drink with the intention of ending the child’s life,” police spokesperson Capt. John Bull said Sunday, according to NBC affiliate KTEN.
A request for comment to the Paris Police Department was not immediately returned Monday.
KTEN reported Sunday that the infant was sent to a facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for medical treatment.
The attempted capital murder charge in Texas is a first-degree felony and Bridgemon could face up to life in prison if convicted.
The district attorney’s office in Lamar County did not immediately return a request for comment to Law&Crime. As of Monday, no charges yet appear on the criminal docket for Bridgemon connected to the alleged attempted murder of his son. Public records do show, however, that he was previously charged with no valid driver’s licenses, expired registration and failure to maintain financial responsibility in December 2023.
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