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Parents indicted in shooting death of toddler
TweetThe parents of a toddler who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest are on house arrest.
Staff Report
SEBRING — The Sebring couple linked to their 2-year-old son’s death now are under indictment by a Mahoning County grand jury.
Douglas Foor, 25, and Amanda Saunier, 24, are both charged with two counts of child endangering. The indictments came Thursday.
Foor is also charged with a count of involuntary manslaughter.
The couple’s son, Jacob, accidentally killed himself when he fired a handgun into his chest Nov. 13, 2008. According to the police report, the shooting took place shortly after 9 a.m.
Foor and Saunier also were arraigned Thursday at the Mahoning County Court in Sebring.
Both appeared before Judge Dianne Vetorri. The parents are on house arrest with the exception of work and church.
Their preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 19, the court supervisor said.
The handgun Jacob used belonged to Foor, a part-time Minerva police officer, but it was not his service gun.
One count of child endangering is in connection with Jacob; the other is for the couple’s 1-year-old daughter, Hannah, who was also in the family’s Smith Township mobile home at the time of the accident.
Foor could face up to 10 years in prison on the involuntary-manslaughter charge and a minimum of three years if he is convicted.
Five years is the maximum for child-endangering charges and a minimum of one year in prison upon conviction, said Detective Terry Rockwell of the Smith Township Police Department.
Rockwell said that Jacob had the barrel of the gun pointing toward his chest and pulled the trigger with both thumbs.
He said it was an accident that should have been avoided.
“As police officers, the first thing we’re taught is gun safety,” he said.
Comments
He was a police officer he should of known better! Common sense tells you to put it away. But it seems he had none.
This is a tragedy. I think the charges are a bit over the top tho. Im sure his parents are already living in their own personal hell and that is punishment enough.
He still deserves to be punished, for his stupidity.
the problem is, is that this guy is a cop. although he was part time u,d think he would know better. you always hear police talk of trigger locks and other safty tips on guns. where was this guy at during those sessions. it is a shame and i feel bad for all of those who are involved in this matter.
Dragonfly- I dont imagine any punishment that a court can give will compare to what they are doing to themselves. They have to live with this for the rest of their lives.
CassAnn granted they have to live with it, BUT it could of been avoided all together, and that little boy would still be alive today. Common sense, if you have kids there are things that need to be done to keep them safe! When my boys were young there were guns in the house, they NEVER seen them.
I don't disagree with your comment, but putting the parents in jail doesn't bring the little boy back. And I stand by my earlier comment- they have received punishment enough.
My god, I can just imagine hell the parents are living in right now. And then the law on their heads, on top of that!!! We incarcerate people for everything around here. I hope judge uses common sense in this case: parents have received enough punishment. What's the point of father being in jail?
one must lose a child by death through disease, accident or tradegy to feel for those parents. professional and blue collar workers make foolish mistakes everyday on thier jobs through industrial accidents and misquided advise. should we lock them up too? i cannot pass judgement what went wrong in their dwelling that caused thier little son to take the gun and shoot himself by ACCIDENT. i do not know these parents but i am sure they are wonderful parents that were doing the past they can while raising thier two children and the devil got in the way and bam went with his evil wrath. we should pray everynight that we are never in that predictment because of causes and consequences went astray.