Deal In Michigan School Shooting Case

A plea deal reached by a Michigan man whose gun was allegedly used in the fatal school shooting of a 6-year-old girl by her classmate reports WWJ Reporter Florence Walton
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Genesee County prosecutors recommended that Jamelle James, 19, be sentenced to two to 15 years in prison. James, who will be sentenced at a later date, is accused of leaving a loaded .32 semiautomatic handgun in a shoebox under a blanket where it was discovered by the first grader.

On Feb. 29, the 6-year-old boy brought a handgun to Buell Elementary School near Flint, Michigan, and, after getting into an argument with Kayla Rolland, shot and killed her.

The boy and his 8-year-old brother had been living with his uncle and James in what police said was a "crack house" where guns were traded for drugs.

James previously reached a plea bargain with federal prosecutors on charges of knowingly possessing a stolen shotgun, which was found in the house after the shooting.

The boy was not charged in the case. His family who was present during the plea was visably upset. They said James was being used as a guinea pig.

But Genesee County prosecutor Arthur Busch said he was pleased with James's plea because it is difficult to obtain a conviction in such a case.

"The law isn't any different from the day when this little girl was killed, and that's a shame," said Busch, who testified before lawmakers in Lansing, Michigan, earlier this year in favor of a law tightening penalties for careless or negligent storage of a handgun that is used by a child in a shooting."

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