Charges dropped

All charges were dismissed Tuesday against a Chula Vista middle school aide who was accused of inflicting corporal injury upon a child and child endangerment.

At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing for Michael Cobb, 44, Chula Vista Superior Court Judge William McGrath ruled there was insufficient evidence for the case to proceed to a trial.

Cobb was a special education assistant at Bonita Vista Middle School at the time of the alleged incidents in 2016. Cobb, of Chula Vista, had pleaded not guilty, and was free on his own recognizance.

Six witnesses testified in the hearing including school employees, the father of a boy who had a broken elbow, and a District Attorney investigator. Cobb’s attorney, Jon Pettis, could not be reached for comment.

Pettis told a reporter the student had fallen and broke his elbow. He said Cobb didn’t cause the injury.

The misdemeanor child endangerment charge cannot be refiled, but the felony count of inflicting corporal injury can be refiled and heard by another judge.

The corporal injury charge states the incident occurred  March 7, 2016 and the child endangerment was alleged to have occurred Feb. 18, 2016. The charges were filed Dec. 12, 2016, after Chula Vista Police presented the case to the District Attorney’s office.