State: Boy shot himself but charges must stand
Associated PressPublished December 4, 2007
JACKSONVILLE - A 12-year-old boy shot himself in the head while playing with a loaded weapon, authorities have confirmed for the first time, but they want to maintain a manslaughter charge against the man who allegedly sold the boy a gun.
The state's theory was contained in a motion filed Monday by Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda.
The prosecutor's motion asks Judge Charles Arnold not to drop the manslaughter charge against Derrick Glover, 24.
"What was the defendant thinking when he sold a 12-year-old boy a loaded revolver? What did the defendant imagine Anthony Youmans would do? Didn't the defendant think that at a minimum, this child would try to shoot it?" the motion stated, the Florida Times-Union reported on its Web site.
De la Rionda wrote that the charge should stand because Anthony "Tony" Youmans would be alive if Glover had not sold him the gun.
The motion was in response to Public Defender Ann Finnell's argument that the state could not prove the action of Glover, 24, was the cause of Youmans' July death.
For several months, the only charge Glover faced was an accusation that he sold the boy a gun. On Nov. 15, the state filed a manslaughter charge.
The circumstances of the boy's death have been kept secret for months after the judge issued an order that prevented public disclosure of public records due to concerns about media coverage.
Police arrested Glover the day the boy's body was found in a lot in front of Glover's residence. His body was found two days after he was reported missing July 29.