Kentucky men charged in recent child gun deaths raise questions about prosecution

RADCLIFF, Ky. (WDRB) -- Two men, who are charged in connection to separate shootings where a child died from a self-inflected gunshot wound, have been charged with separate crimes which has raised question about how these types of cases are prosecuted in Kentucky.

On Saturday, Radcliff officers responded to a report of an accidental shooting around 12:45 p.m. at a residence on North Street, near Dixie Boulevard. When they arrived, they found a child lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head.

Authorities charged 26-year-old Damarco Callen with first-degree assault and wanton endangerment. First-degree assault carries a penalty of 10 to 20 years in prison.

According to an arrest citation, Callen said he told police he left a loaded gun under a pillow in a bed where he, a woman, and four small children slept. Callen told officers when he took a plate into the kitchen, leaving the child alone in the bedroom, he heard a gunshot. When he returned to the bedroom, he found the child face down on the bed with a gunshot wound, police said.

The boy was taken to Norton Children’s Hospital, where he later died.

That shooting follows a similar situation that occurred in Jefferson County. In November, police arrested E’Monta Goss after his 3-year-old daughter found a loaded gun under a couch cushion and fatally shot herself.

Goss is charged with second-degree manslaughter, which carries a prison sentence of five to 10 years.

“There is certainly no winner in these cases,” said Louisville attorney Brian Butler, who is not involved in either case. "In these types of circumstances, you get a lot of discretion between prosecutors and of course, the facts are a little different."

Kentucky law does not define how these types of cases should be prosecuted, leading to discrepancies between jurisdictions.

Butler added, it is likely Callen's charge will change to a homicide-related charge, possibly murder, since the boy later died.

“This is an exact example of how two different jurisdictions are going to look at the same alleged conduct and treat it drastically differently,” Butler said.

Butler compared this situation, to when children who were forgotten or left in cars died, which lawmakers eventually addressed.

"For many years, we had, sadly, we had men and women that would forget and leave a child in a car, they're in a hurry, or they run into a store, and then occasionally someone would die in a child seat, and it's awful, and it's the same circumstance," Butler said. "You could have a prosecutor that thinks that's a reckless homicide. You can have a prosecutor think that that's a manslaughter. Finally, the legislature stepped in and said, If this scenario happens, that's a manslaughter in the second degree."

According to Kentucky State Police, a law passed in 2000, known as "Bryan's Law." It was named after 11-month old Bryan Puckett, who died July 13, 1999 after being left in a hot car by his babysitter. It makes a person liable for second-degree manslaughter or first-degree wanton endangerment for leaving a child younger than eight years of age in a motor vehicle where circumstances pose a grave risk of death.

When it comes to what charge(s) should be warranted when a child gets hold of a gun and dies from self-inflicted gunshot wound, Butler said it will be a decision for lawmakers.

"That's a decision that, you know, we elect our legislatures, and they have to make, they have to make that call, but it is a scenario that's happening enough that there needs to be what we call, legally, a carve out," Butler said.

In an email to WDRB, Radcliff Police said, "gun owners have responsibilities and if they choose to ignore the risks associated with not securing their firearms we will charge them. They need to be held accountable."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 70 kids die each year in the Untied States due to unintentional gunfire.

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