After 2-year-old girl shoots self, man becomes first person charged under Michigan’s gun storage law
FLINT, MI — A Michigan man whose two-year-old daughter shot herself in the head with his revolver last week became the first person charged under the state’s new law requiring the safe storage of guns, just days after the new measure went into effect as part of a major reform. of gun regulations in the state.
Michael Tolbert, 44, of Flint, was indicted Monday on nine felonies, including single counts of first-degree child abuse and violating Michigan’s gun storage law, said John Potbury, Genesee County’s chief deputy prosecutor.
Tolbert’s daughter remained in critical condition at the hospital Wednesday after the Feb. 14 shooting, Potbury said. The youth shot himself the day after Michigan’s new safe gun storage law went into effect.
A not guilty plea was entered Monday on behalf of Tolbert, who also faces one charge: felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, lying to a peace officer in a violent crime investigation and four counts of felony firearm, Potbury said .
He said Tolbert is not allowed to possess firearms and ammunition because he has multiple convictions for firearm-related crimes and drug-related convictions.
Tolbert was being held in the Genesee County Jail with bail totaling $250,000, according to online court records.
He became the first person charged with violating the law, which went into effect on Feb. 13, the one-year anniversary of when a gunman burst into a classroom at Michigan State University, killing two students and seriously wounding others left behind.
The law took effect a week after a Michigan jury convicted a gunman’s mother of involuntary manslaughter, making her the first parent in the U.S. to be held responsible for a child who committed a mass school shooting. Accessibility of weapons was an issue during the trial and investigators say Jennifer and James Crumbley failed to properly secure the weapon. James Crumbley will be tried next month on the same charge in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting that left four students dead.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said Tuesday at a news conference announcing the charges against Tolbert that the law “took effect a week ago today. This incident happened the next day.”
Flint police learned of the shooting after Tolbert took the girl to a hospital. In the bedroom of the man’s home, officers found two weapons: a revolver used in the shooting and a semiautomatic pistol. Both were unsecured and loaded. Police said they found no gun locks or safes in the bedroom.
Tolbert’s next hearing is a probable cause conference on Feb. 29. A court official said Tolbert would be assigned a public defender, but referred calls to the county’s chief public defender. On Wednesday, a message was left with the chief public defender by The Associated Press asking for the name of Tolbert’s attorney.
Because Tolbert is a repeat offender, he could face an enhanced prison sentence of up to life in prison if convicted of failing to safely store his firearms, Potbury said. Tolbert also could face life in prison if convicted on first-degree child abuse charges, he said.