An Indiana man was convicted Friday on more than a dozen charges of drug possession and child neglect after his 1-year-old son was accidentally shot and killed by his 4-year-old sibling in June 2020.
A jury found 24-year-old Avion Sexton Sr. guilty of all 13 charges — including child neglect resulting in death and dealing a narcotic drug — brought against him following a four-day trial this week.
The criminal proceedings against Sexton Sr. stem from a June 18, 2020 incident where Sexton’s 1-year-old son, Javion Sexton, was killed by his 4-year-old sibling when the older child was playing with a gun unsupervised.
Neighbors at the time told reporters they heard a woman calling for help and saw her rush Javion to the hospital in the aftermath of the shooting. The child died in the hospital later that afternoon.
A St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit investigation found evidence of drug possession and dealing, police say, and a grand jury indicted both Sexton Sr. and Eboni Hosea, the child’s mother, in October.
Hosea turned herself in to police at that point, while Sexton Sr. was not arrested until January 2021.
All told, Sexton Sr. was convicted of four counts of neglect of a dependent, five counts of drug possession and four counts of dealing a narcotic drug.
Because he was convicted on 13 separate counts, it is unclear exactly how long Sexton Sr. will be sentenced to prison when he goes before St. Joseph County Superior Judge Elizabeth Hurley next month. The most serious charge, child neglect resulting in death, carries a minimum sentence of 20 years.
Criminal proceedings against Hosea are ongoing and she is scheduled for a hearing next week.
Tell us your thoughts...