Father Charged In Antioch Toddler's Gunshot Death
ANTIOCH (BCN) - Prosecutors filed charges Thursday against the father of a 2-year-old Antioch boy who was fatally shot in the head with his parents' gun in December, Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney John Cope said.
Eddie Carr, 28, was charged with two counts of child endangerment, one of which carries an enhancement for causing death; being a felon in possession of a firearm; criminal storage of a firearm and possession of cocaine, Cope said.
According to police, Carr had previous weapons and assault convictions and had recently completed his parole.
If convicted of the new charges, Carr could face a maximum sentence of more than 12 years in prison, Cope said.
The shooting happened at about 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 2 in the family's apartment on Lemontree Court, police said.
The victim, Jyonn Carr and his 4-year-old brother were home with their grandmother.
The two boys were in their parents' bedroom when the grandmother, who was in the living room, heard a gun go off.
When their grandmother went into the room, she found Jyonn suffering from a gunshot wound to his head. He was taken to a local hospital where he died.
Officials were not commenting on which child had the gun when Jyonn was shot.
Investigators determined that the children's mother, Laqinda Modique, 28, had recently bought the gun, a 9 mm handgun, and that Carr had removed it from a safe that morning, loaded it, and placed it in a drawer in the bedroom, police said.
The two parents were arrested when they returned home, but later posted bail.
Although the boy's mother bought the gun, Cope said he believed Carr had control of it and therefore was the source of the endangerment that caused Jyonn's death.
He said he found insufficient evidence to charge the boy's mother at this time.
"This is clearly a...horrible tragedy that was based on, in its core, negligence," Cope said.
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