A Kansas woman has been sentenced to just over three years in prison after a loaded handgun she left unattended was discovered by a four-year-old child, who then used it to fatally shoot a seven-year-old boy.
On Thursday, October 16, Tasha Dillard, 25, was sentenced to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and six counts of aggravated child endangerment. Dillard had initially faced a first-degree felony murder charge in connection with the death of Davion Gunter, 7, according to reports from Wichita outlets.
Unsupervised Children and Alcohol
The tragic incident occurred in the early hours of March 16 in Dillard’s apartment in the Planeview neighborhood. Court documents and police affidavits describe Dillard as hosting a small party. While Gunter and multiple other young children were left inside the apartment without adult supervision, Dillard and her adult friends went out to her parked car to continue taking tequila shots. Dillard later told police she had spent most of the day drinking alcohol.
While the adults were outside, a four-year-old child in the apartment discovered a loaded gun and shot Gunter in the upper torso. The seven-year-old was rushed to a hospital but later died from his injuries.
Gun Found in Unattended Purse
The four-year-old told authorities that he found the weapon in Dillard’s purse, which was left unattended on the kitchen counter. The child stated they were “playing guns” and discharged the weapon after following Gunter into Dillard’s bedroom. Other children in the apartment said they had been playing with an “orange toy gun” earlier in the night and had posed with the real handgun, thinking it was also a toy…