No jail for woman in accidental shooting

The Longwood woman left a gun where children could find it, leading to a young girl being shot by a playmate.

By CARY DAVIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 3, 2000

DADE CITY -- A 45-year-old Seminole County woman won't go to prison for leaving a loaded gun within reach of a child who found it and shot a playmate at a Crystal Springs vacation home, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Nenita Du Watson of Longwood pleaded no contest Wednesday to asingle felony charge of culpable negligence in a deal that requires her to complete two years of probation.

Senior Circuit Judge Helen S. Hansel accepted the plea and withheld a judgment of guilt against Watson, who had no previous criminal record.

The judge also gave Watson five years to make restitution for medical bills and other expenses incurred by the family of Rowena Gasmen, the 10-year-old girl who lost a kidney as a result of the Oct. 3, 1998, shooting.

The amount of restitution Watson must pay has yet to be determined.

Rowena was shot in the back by a 7-year-old girl who found the loaded .357-caliber Magnum handgun in the Watsons' stilt house on Maypop Street, where four families had gathered for a weekend outing.

Watson, according to reports, told detectives that when she first arrived at the house, she hid the .357 Magnum and a 9mm pistol under a pillow in an upstairs bedroom.

Five children were playing in the bedroom, out of sight of the adults, when the gun went off.

In pronouncing what she acknowledged was a lenient sentence, Judge Hansel said: "I hope you understand, Mrs. Watson, that you are fortunate to only get probation. Do you understand how dangerous it is to leave a gun in the presence of a child? I hope this has certainly taught you a lesson."

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office did not charge the child who fired the weapon, concluding that she did not intend to harm Rowena.

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