Seven years in prison for death of boy, 12, who accessed dad's AR-15
TAVARES – The father of a 12-year-old boy who accidentally shot and killed himself with an unsafe rifle stored within inches of where he was sleeping has pleaded no contest to aggravated manslaughter of a child and been sentenced to seven years in prison.
Christopher D. Wyatt, 33, of Lady Lake, was scheduled to stand trial in connection with the Aug. 31, 2020 death of his son, Jeremyah. If convicted, he could have been sentenced up to 30 years in prison, according to a sentencing score sheet on file with the court clerk.
Instead, he entered his plea on Jan. 5.
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Wyatt had no felony record, but he had several traffic violations, including one DUI, five speeding tickets, five seat belt violations and two tickets for careless driving.
The death, said prosecutors, was preventable and “a gross and flagrant disregard for the safety of his children,” because the father had been cautioned before about the danger by the state Department of Children and Families.
Ten months earlier, DCF went to the home when Jeremyah’s 6-year-old sister told teachers at her school that she and her siblings were scared one day when they were alone in the house and they thought someone was breaking in and armed themselves.
Investigators initially thought Jeremyah grabbed a shotgun. It turned out to be a BB gun.
“The investigation was closed but the defendant was counseled on the importance of securing his weapons in a place that could not be accessed by the children. In addition, the defendant signed a form acknowledging that safe storage of firearms is required by Florida law,” according to a court filing from Assistant State Attorney Nick Camuccio.
DCF inspected the house, which is in the 5400 block of Singletary Road, and the parents said a shotgun, rifle and handgun were secured on a top closet shelf in the master bedroom out of the reach of the children.
They said the children had been instructed to never touch the weapons.
Here's what happened on Aug. 30, 2020
The affidavit of probable cause stated that on Aug. 30, 2020, Wyatt, his wife and three children watched a movie and fell asleep in the master bedroom.
Jeremyah was sleeping on the floor next to the bed. His 10-year-old sister was asleep on the bed and his 7-year-old sister was sleeping on a children’s mattress on the floor.
The parents awoke and went downstairs with their infant child. Soon, they heard a shot and screaming and ran upstairs to find that Jeremyah had accidentally shot himself in the face when he pulled the AR-15 out from under the bed by the barrel.
“The defendant escorted his children and wife downstairs, unloaded the rifle to make it safe, called 911, and carried the spent shell casing downstairs to the garage,” the affidavit said.
Christopher Wyatt admitted buying the rifle from a friend years before, and that the safety was inoperable. He said he had loaded it about a week earlier when he heard dogs barking outside.
Defense attorney Michael H. LaFay argued in one motion that it was unconstitutional to charge Wyatt with the crime because it violated his Second Amendment Constitutional right to bear arms and the 14th Amendment (equal protection.)
Wyatt refused to talk about the specifics of the case to the Daily Commercial in 2020, but when asked to describe his son, he replied: “He was perfect.”
About 1,300 children are killed and 5,800 injured in gun accidents every year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Seven years in prison for allowing boy, 12, deadly access to gun
