Teen may get probation in case of 9-year-old sickened by vodka

Jessica Fender
The Denver Post

Posted: 02/16/2011 01:00:00 AM MST

Updated: 02/16/2011 01:16:21 AM MST

     

Tyrale Haselrig- Graham    

A teenager accused of giving a 9-year-old vodka shots until the boy had to be taken to a hospital could get probation as part of an ongoing deal with the Denver district attorney's office.

Tyrale Haselrig-Graham, 18, and a buddy were drinking at the victim's home on New Year's Eve and got the child dangerously drunk while his mother was away, authorities say.

Haselrig-Graham originally faced charges of child abuse causing serious bodily injury and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Class 3 and Class 4 felonies, respectively. The second teen, Skyler Dematteo, also 18, still faces those charges.

But at a Tuesday court appearance, Haselrig-Graham's public defender noted that under the deal, he could instead

Skyler Dematteo face a charge of negligent child abuse, which could get him probation.

 

Haselrig-Graham's mother and sister and two of his high school teachers sat nearby in support of the 18-year-old, who remains in custody.

The incident happened at the apartment of Dematteo's neighbor, where three children, including the victim, lived, according to Dematteo's mother.

Naomi Dematteo didn't know why her son was there that night, but she said he didn't participate in giving alcohol to the child.

Dematteo, father of a 2-year-old, made his high school's honor roll last year and was on track to graduate this year until the arrest, she said.

He's still awaiting a publicly funded lawyer for a preliminary hearing this month.

"It's a shame," Naomi Dematteo said. "I don't know who was supposed to be watching those kids. I just don't think he deserves all this."

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