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YOUNGSTOWN -- The father of a Struthers toddler accidentally killed last year has avoided trial with a plea deal that will send him to prison.
Jacob Jackson, 23, of Spring Street, pleaded guilty Thursday before Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Maureen Sweeney to one count of involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony. He was charged with that and a third-degree felony count of endangering children. Jackson was set to go on trial Monday. He faced up to 11 years in prison if convicted.
Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Patrick Fening handled the plea deal.
The prosecutor's office and defense attorney Damian Billak are jointly recommending a sentence of 3 1/2 to four years in prison. Jackson will be sentenced Jan. 7.
Jackson's son, 3-year-old Gionni Jackson, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Aug. 15, 2025, after grabbing Jackson's gun off of a dresser.
Jackson was indicted in January, despite the Mahoning County Coroner's Office ruling the child's death accidental.
Struthers Police Chief Tim Roddy handed the investigation over to the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office immediately after the shooting because the boy was the grandson of a Struthers police officer.
Jackson told a coroner’s office investigator that he was getting ready to go to his mother’s house to retrieve his gun holster. He said he set his handgun on the dresser so he could use the bathroom. The dresser was about waist-high. Jackson reported that Gionni’s mother was doing her hair in the bedroom, and Gionni was behind her.
Jackson said he was using the bathroom with the door open when he heard a pop and saw Gionni fall to the floor.
Jackson picked Gionni up and ran outside to get help. He flagged down a car to take them to the hospital, the report states.
Lane LifeTRANS ambulance staff reported that they were called to a parking lot at Mathews Road and South Avenue in Boardman. When they arrived, they found the boy without a pulse with a bystander’s shirt wrapped around his head.
Jackson said he was driving his son to the hospital but pulled into a parking lot because the boy “went unconscious and stopped breathing,” the report states.
The report states he was pronounced dead at 12:39 p.m.