Prosecutor: Tragic, preventable accidents should lead adults to be more responsible

The incident has hit the community hard, and Lindquist said he’s sure there is no one more broken up over the death of Julio than his mother. (AP Photo/File)

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist charged Eric Vita,
23, and Jahnisha McIntosh, 22, with Manslaughter in the
Second Degree on Wednesday. They plead not guilty in the
death of McIntosh’s 3-year-old son who accidentally shot
himself in a car parked at a Tacoma gas station two weeks
ago.

The couple was cooperative with detectives as the looked
into the case of the tragic shooting, Pierce County
prosecutor Mark Lindquist said on 97.3 KIRO FM’s Ron & Don
Show.

“The mother is stricken with grief,” Lindquist said, “But,
there has been criminal negligence and there needs to be
some accountability.”

The second degree manslaughter charge carries with it a
standard sentence of 21 to 27 months, but depending upon
the judge and the circumstances it could be less,
according to Lindquist.

The couple had pulled into a gas station near the Tacoma
Mall just after midnight on March 14. Before going into
the station, Vita placed his loaded 9mm handgun with a
laser sight under the passenger seat where he was sitting.
The boy, Julio, unbuckled himself from his car seat and
was roaming around the minivan. His 8-month-old sister was
strapped into a car seat in the van’s second row.

Julio asked his mom, who was sitting in the driver’s seat,
for candy. As he watched, his mother moved the gun from
under the passenger seat and placed it under her seat.
“Unfortunately, this is done so the three year old can
observe,” said Lindquist.

She got out of the van and went into the store for food
after Vita returned to pump gas. The boy was left
unrestrained in the vehicle.

Then, a gunshot was heard from inside the van just moments
later and Julio was found on the front passenger
floorboard with a gunshot wound to his head.

Julio was taken to the hospital where he died.

The boyfriend told detectives that he’d had a past
experience where he walked into a convenience store with
his gun tucked into his waistband and his low hanging
pants where the clerk had become alarmed and called
police. “It was a big hassle as the boyfriend tells it,
and as a result he decided in this case to leave the gun
behind.”

As with many tragic stories, Lindquist said that hopefully
this and others will serve as a reminder to parents. “I
would hope that the attention on these tragic preventable
accidents, would lead people, to lead adults to act more
responsibly with guns, and more responsibly with their
cars and more responsibly with their kids.”