By msnbc.com staff
A mother and her male friend pleaded not guilty Wednesday to manslaughter charges in the death of a 3-year-old boy who fatally shot himself with a gun left in their van when they stopped at a Tacoma, Wash., gas station, NBC station KING reported.
Eric Vita, 23, and Jahnisha McIntosh, 22, were negligent in allowing the woman?s son, Julio Segura-McIntosh, to reach the gun, Pierce County prosecutors said.
Vita is being held on $25,000 bail and cannot contact McIntosh, who is being held on $15,000 bail, KING reported.
Vita on March 14 placed his 9mm pistol under the passenger seat when he stepped out to pump gas, Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said. Vita has a concealed weapons permit but removed the gun from his low-fitting waistband to avoid alarming the store clerk, he said.
Julio unbuckled his seatbelt and walked to the front of the van to ask his mother for candy, Lindquist said. McIntosh moved the gun under the driver's seat?and went inside?to buy food as?Vita returned?to pump gas, he said.
Julio, unrestrained inside the van, found the gun and shot himself in the head, Lindquist said.
McIntosh's 8-month-old daughter was in the van in a rear-facing car seat at the time and was not hurt.
"Nothing is sadder than the death of a child, and when the death is the result of criminal negligence, there needs to be accountability," Lindquist said.
Friends and family told detectives that Vita routinely showed off the gun, including to Julio, and on one occasion he offered to let Julio hold the gun before another adult intervened, KING reported.
Vita's attorney, David Gehrke, told KOMO that his client acted reasonably.
"I think he was being very careful. He did not just leave the gun there, without another adult present. And I think if the mother had stayed in there, this probably would not have happened," Gehrke said.
Washington state is one of 23 that doesn't have a specific law to prevent child access to firearms, such as mandatory trigger locks or criminal penalties for adults who allow children to access guns, according to the San Francisco-based group Legal Community Against Violence.
However, the state does require a person with a concealed weapons permit to lock the gun and conceal it from view if it is left in the car.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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