Indiana parents have been charged after their 5-year-old son allegedly shot and killed his 16-month-old brother. Police say both young children had drugs in their systems.
Around 3:00 p.m. on March 28, officers from the Lafayette Police Department responded to a report that a child wasn’t breathing at an apartment building in Lafayette — about an hour north of Indianapolis. Cops discovered a 1-year-old boy deceased and determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.
After an investigation, police said that 16-month-old Isiah Johnson had been shot and killed by his 5-year-old brother.
Law & Crime reported, “Following the death, toxicology results reportedly showed the toddler tested positive for marijuana. His older brother allegedly had cocaine in his system.”
Deonta Johnson, 27, and Shatia Welch, 24, were arrested on Monday afternoon during a traffic stop in LaPorte, Indiana. According to a statement by the Lafayette Police Department, the parents were charged with neglect resulting in death, neglect resulting in bodily injury, conspiracy to commit dealing a narcotic drug, dealing a narcotic drug, possession of a narcotic, conspiracy to commit dealing marijuana, dealing marijuana, possession of marijuana, and possession of paraphernalia. Johnson was also charged with obstruction of justice.
Welch wasn’t at the apartment at the time of the shooting, and Johnson was asleep on a couch inside the apartment, according to NBC News.
Johnson allegedly told investigators that he was awakened by a “loud boom” and found his youngest son in the bedroom.
Lafayette police lieutenant Matt Gard told Journal & Courier, “When I arrived on scene, I don’t believe any life-saving measures were taken” on the toddler.
WXIN reported, “At the time, he denied that Isiah Johnson had been shot and denied that he had a gun in the apartment. However, he later told officers that Welch, the leaseholder of the apartment, did own a gun.
Welch allegedly told police that the gun was locked away under her bed in a box. According to the affidavit, the mother admitted to investigators that she had lost one of the two sets of keys — but that her 5-year-old son “would not know what the keys belonged to.”
Police said they found 93 fentanyl pills, marijuana, and paraphernalia inside the apartment.
Authorities stated that surveillance footage from the apartment complex showed Johnson leaving his unit with a bag after the shooting and placing it in a car. A search warrant was obtained, and police reportedly found marijuana stashed inside the same vehicle.
The father’s trial is scheduled to start on Nov. 28, and the mother’s trial is expected to begin on Dec. 12.
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