Sunday, February 29, 2004
CINCINNATI (AP) -- A 19-year-old man was sentenced to one year in prison for reckless homicide after an 8-year-old boy found his unlocked gun and fatally shot a playmate.
Charles Crabtree apologized Friday to the parents of Javontay Williams, 7, who died Sept. 22.
"It stays in the back of my head and hurts me very much because that was never supposed to happen," Crabtree said. "I know there is nothing I can do to fix your broken heart, but if I could change it, I would."
Charging a gun owner in such a case is rare, prosecutors said Friday.
"It was an accident what occurred between the 8-year-old and the 7-year-old," said assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Kevin Hardman. "What was not an accident was giving them access to a loaded gun."
Javontay's mother had moved herself and her two young children into a friend's home. Crabtree lived in the basement, which was also where Javontay and other children often went to play video games.
Crabtree kept two guns, at least one of which was loaded, tucked into a sofa bed, prosecutors said.
Crabtree knew the children played there and should have known to keep the weapons unloaded and out of their reach, Hardman said.