Northeast Side man headed to prison for failing to keep toddler safe from gun in home

John Futty, The Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read
DeMonte Walker, 25, has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for felony child endangering with a gun specification after his then-toddler son picked up a gun last year that Walker was not legally supposed to possess and shot himself with it in their North Side home.
DeMonte Walker, 25, has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for felony child endangering with a gun specification after his then-toddler son picked up a gun last year that Walker was not legally supposed to possess and shot himself with it in their North Side home.

Demonte J. Walker Sr. was free on bond in an attempted-murder case last year when his toddler son picked up a gun in their Northeast Side home and shot himself.

Fortunately, the child, who was transported to Nationwide Children's Hospital, survived.

Walker, however, is now facing prison time for the incident, which occurred while he was playing a video game. Police reported finding an AK-47and three other guns in the house.

Defendant playing video game when toddler shot himself

He pleaded guilty on Nov. 9 to a felony child endangering charge, with a gun specification, and possessing a gun despite a felony conviction.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Chris Brown sentenced Walker, 25, to four years and nine months in prison, which was recommended by prosecuting and defense attorneys as part of a plea agreement.

He will be credited with the year he has spent in the county jail since his arrest in the case.

Columbus police frustrated by crimes committed by defendants out on bond

Walker had been free for four and a half months after posting a $100,000 bond in the attempted murder case when on the morning of Nov. 16, 2020, his then 23-month-old son found the gun in their home on the 2000 block of Bancroft Street on the Northeast Side, near Linden.

The child shot himself in the abdomen while handling the weapon. He recovered and has suffered no long-term effects from the injuries, Walker's attorney, Frederick Benton, said.

Walker has been barred from possessing a gun since a 2012, when as a juvenile he was convicted of delinquency attempted burglary.

Prosecutors have since dismissed the attempted murder charge, which stemmed from a drive-by shooting in which two people were injured on March 10, 2019 on Interstate 670 near Leonard Avenue. But Walker still faces improper-handling-of-a-firearm and illegal gun possession charges in the case.

Brown ruled that Walker won't be transferred from the county jail to an Ohio prison until that case is resolved.

jfutty@dispatch.com

@johnfutty

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Man who was free on bond when his toddler shot himself gets prison