A 香港六和开奖历史记录 father whose 4-year-old son fatally聽shot himself after finding an unsecured gun in a family car will avoid prison time, according to a plea deal he accepted Monday.
Lynzell Demond Anderson, 36, was set to be tried for negligent homicide this week. Instead, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of obstruction of justice, 19th Judicial District Court records show.
District Judge Fred Crifasi ordered Anderson to serve three years of probation and deferred his prison sentence under Article 893 of the state鈥檚 criminal code, which allows the suspension of noncapital felony sentences.
Anderson鈥檚 son fatally shot himself in the face after finding a gun under the passenger seat of the family鈥檚 Chevy Camaro on July 8, 2022. East 香港六和开奖历史记录 deputies later found the gun in tall grass in the backyard of the Merrydale residence in the 7400 block of Prescott Road, according to an arrest affidavit. Prosecutors said Anderson later admitted he moved the weapon to the backyard.
An amended indictment that prosecutors filed after the plea indicated Anderson tampered with evidence during the criminal investigation.
Anderson told detectives he was preparing to go to the store with his fianc茅 and son the evening of the shooting and left the boy in the driveway unsupervised for an unknown amount of time while he went inside to get his keys. He ran back out when he heard a gunshot and found the boy dead inside the car.
When questioned by investigators, Anderson admitted he left the loaded gun unsecured under the vehicle鈥檚 passenger seat without a protective covering while his son was outside. A neighbor told detectives no adults were watching the boy before he shot himself, according to court records.
Conditions of Anderson鈥檚 probation include random drug screenings, a psychological evaluation and mental health treatment. Judge Crifasi also ordered him to pay a $500 fine, serve 50 hours of community service, possess no firearms and remain drug and alcohol free, court records show.
Anderson stood to face two to five years behind bars if he pleaded guilty to the negligent homicide indictment. He has been in therapy dealing with the trauma of his son鈥檚 death since the incident, according to authorities.
Prosecutors said Anderson and the victim鈥檚 mother have since gotten married, and the deceased boy was their only child in common.
The father had no prior criminal convictions or child welfare reports to the Department of Child and Family Services. District Attorney Hillar Moore said the boy鈥檚 mother came to each of the court hearings leading up to the trial date to support Anderson and was adamant when she spoke to prosecutors that she didn鈥檛 want him to serve time in prison.
Moore described Anderson as 鈥渃ompletely remorseful鈥 and indicated he became emotional when the facts of the case were read in court during Monday's hearing
鈥淚 think based on the facts and the mitigation the defendant presented, this was the right resolution for this type of case,鈥 the DA said in a statement Thursday. 鈥淭his was absolutely the right thing for our office to do to not only serve justice, but also be respectful of the mother鈥檚 wishes and credit the defendant for the steps that he has taken to rectify a very tragic situation. Prison time would not add any benefit to this matter. In fact, it would鈥檝e only worsened the situation and hurt this family, which is already grieving.鈥
Anderson is set to appear in court for a probation review hearing June 20.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from East 香港六和开奖历史记录 District Attorney Hillar Moore.
