BELCHERTOWN — Keith Truehart is accused of breaking a baby's ribs, and that makes him Belchertown's most wanted man, according to police, who are actively searching for the convicted criminal.
Truehart, 30, is wanted in connection with a November 2014 assault on a 9-month-old child. Authorities did not specify Truehart's relationship to the baby, but he was alone with the child when the injuries occurred, police said.
Belchertown police are working with the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section to track down Truehart, who has multiple criminal convictions and has been at large since the alleged assault. Anyone who knows his whereabouts is asked to call 413-323-6685 or 1-800-KAPTURE. All calls are confidential, police said.
Police in Belchertown responded to a Nov. 15, 2014, report of a baby injured in a fall. Truehart was alone with the child at the time, but fled before police and paramedics arrived, according to authorities.
Investigators observed significant bruising to the child's forehead and around both eyes, medical conditions that were "inconsistent with the reported cause of the injuries," police said.
The baby was taken to a hospital trauma center, where medical personnel also discovered that the child had two broken ribs. Doctors determined that the injuries were not accidental, but rather were "inflicted on the child," police said.
If he is captured, Truehart will face two counts of assault and battery on a child with substantial injury and single counts of assault and battery, witness intimidation, and malicious destruction of property.
Truehart, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound white man, has ties to Belchertown, Amherst and Holyoke, police said. He has short brown hair, green eyes and multiple tattoos, including the name "Tina" on his right forearm and the word "blazed" on his left forearm. Other tattoos include a dragon with a sword on his left upper arm and shoulder area and barbed wire on his right shoulder area.