Police: Loaded Shotgun Found Next To Sleeping Child
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- A young St. Paul father is facing serious charges for endangering the safety of his 4-year old son.
Police say 25-year-old Jeremy Smith Jr. showed no regard for his son's safety when he left the boy alone in a bedroom that was scattered with guns and ammunition.
"So the child gets up out of bed and there are loaded guns within easy reach," said Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Rick Dusterhoft.
Dusterhoft heads the criminal division that on Thursday charged Smith with one count of endangering a child.
According to the criminal complaint, Smith left his son unattended and sleeping in an upstairs bedroom.
When police came to the door, they went upstairs and found a loaded shotgun and a bandolier of shells lying on the floor alongside the bed.
"I think the child, his parents and the community are very lucky that the police intervened when they did in this case, it could have been much worse," Dusterhoft said.
Police found six other unsecured long guns in the room, along with scattered boxes and loose ammunition. Smith told police he was about to clean the guns.
According to the complaint, investigators found no evidence of any gun cleaning supplies.
A nearby gun safe was unlocked with several other loaded guns inside.
"All it takes is one gun," said the child's grandfather, Roger Sepulveda.
Sepulveda said that Smith, who does not live with the boy and his mother, needs to learn from the charges of child endangerment.
He adds that it was a reckless mistake that so easily could have turned tragic.
"You know the way little men are," Sepulveda said. "They like to pull triggers or buttons.So I don't know what he was thinking, I really don't."
Smith appeared in Ramsey County court on Thursday afternoon. His bail is set at $5,000.