From Valleynewslive · · 1m 20s
A cover-up in Alliance, and a grand jury's answer
A 14-year-old brought his mother's gun to a friend's house. What happened after the shot is why she's now facing charges.
In brief
A 14-year-old brought his mother's gun to a friend's house. What happened after the shot is why she's now facing charges. Moving a gun and staying quiet turned a parent into a defendant: after a shooting, what you do next is its own crime. Originally reported by Valleynewslive.
A mother indicted
A Stark County grand jury indicted Erin Barker, 47, on a charge of tampering with evidence. She is set to be arraigned on Oct. 2.
A June afternoon in Alliance
Police say Barker's 14-year-old son used her gun to fatally shoot 15-year-old Kennedy Wise around 4:15 p.m. on June 19, at a home on West Summit Street.
The gun came from home
The boy knew Wise. He brought his mother's gun with him to the house, according to police.
“the boy, an acquaintance of the victim, brought the gun to the home”
He took it and lied
After the shooting, the boy removed the gun from the scene and told his mother the death was a suicide.
She put it back
Police say Barker returned the gun to the scene and never told officers she had done it. That silence is the tampering charge.
The truth, later
The boy eventually admitted he accidentally shot Wise in the head and that it was not a suicide. He faces involuntary manslaughter and is held in juvenile detention.
The one thing
Moving a gun and staying quiet turned a parent into a defendant: after a shooting, what you do next is its own crime.
