JaJuan Robinson Jr. (GoFundMe).
A 31-year-old Minnesota man skirted prison time after a 3-year-old boy he was babysitting got hold of a gun and accidentally shot himself to death.
Elliot Staples III pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the death of JaJuan Robinson Jr. in Minneapolis. Staples was watching the boy on Oct. 21, 2024. When he had to go to the bathroom, Staples said he took his gun out of the holster he was wearing on his hip and placed it on the center of the kitchen island, thinking the boy could not reach the weapon.
Staples explained he normally puts the gun on top of the refrigerator, but did not do that this time because he was "rushed," cops wrote in a probable cause arrest affidavit.
As he was going to the bathroom, Staples heard a gunshot. He ran out to the main room where he found JaJuan bleeding from the head and suffering from a gunshot wound. The boy was transported to the hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.
On Wednesday, a judge sentenced Staples to serve 180 days behind bars beginning on March 3. He was also placed on probation for five years. Should he violate the terms of his probation, Staples could go to prison for four years. Staples also must pay about $7,500 in restitution.
JaJuan's mother, Charlotte Williams, was at work when her son died. She expressed outrage that her son got his hands on a firearm.
"For him to get a hold of a gun, how?" Williams told local ABC affiliate KSTP after Staples was charged. "He thought it was a toy. My baby accidentally shot himself in the head."
The boy's aunt in a GoFundMe described JaJuan as "silly, energetic and always playful."
"He adored Spider-Man, loved dinosaurs, and dreamed of becoming a construction worker because of his fascination with excavators," she wrote.
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