Lubbock Man Charged For Ditching 4 Year Old Son On Highway In The Middle Of The Night

A Lubbock man who is accused of ditching his son on a rural highway in the middle of the night is facing increased charges. His charge has been upped to attempted capitol murder.

32nd Judicial District Attorney, Ann Reed, upped the charges against Carlos Rico after talking with the police chief in Sweetwater.

"As the facts of the case developed it became apparent that the more serious charges were appropriate," Reed told The Associated Press.

He was first charged with child endangerment but after review the charges were increased to felony attempted capitol murder. Another man found his son along Interstate 20 near Sweetwater about 3 a.m. Tuesday and further review points to the 22 year old father choking the child and leaving him on the side of the highway.

After being picked up by a highschool basketball coach, the boy was taken to the hospital where he had over 500 cactus spines removed from his body. After being released from the hospital, he was placed in foster care.

Rico was taken into custody in the Ft. Worth suburb of Saginaw. Rico's cousin turned him in to the police after Rico showed up at the cousin's house without the child.

The boy's stepmother in Lubbock came to be with the boy, no-one is sure about the boy's biological mother's whereabouts and her involvement in his life.