Father of toddler who shot himself with gun left on table sentenced to jail
LANSING — A man whose 3-year-old child shot and injured himself with a gun the child picked up from a kitchen table three years ago has been sentenced to jail for child abuse.
Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina this week gave Lamarko Joseph a year in jail, with one day credit and the balance held in abeyance, for second-degree child abuse, court records indicate. It was unclear if the sentence also included a term of probation.
Joseph, 29, pleaded guilty to second-degree child abuse in September with an agreement he would receive no more than two years in jail or prison, the records show. Prosecutors dismissed three weapons counts against him.
The shooting happened Dec. 3, 2019, at a home in the 5000 block of South Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Lansing.
Joseph told police he placed the loaded gun on the table after returning home from a gas station in December 2019, a Lansing police detective testified in a warrant hearing. Joseph said he saw the child walk in the direction of the table but didn't think anything of it until he heard a gunshot, the detective said.
The boy suffered a gunshot wound to the head, but recovered.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Father of toddler who shot himself with gun left on table sentenced to jail
