Phillip Jones Jr. Sentenced To 57 Months After His Gun Was Used In Accidental Killing Of 6-Year-Old

MOORHEAD, Minn. (WCCO) — A Moorhead man will spend nearly five years in prison after a child was accidentally shot and killed with a gun he owned illegally, officials said.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, 34-year-old Phillip Jones Jr. was sentenced to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release Tuesday.

In March 2021, Moorhead police responded to a home on a report a 6-year-old boy had been shot. Paramedics tried to save the boy, but he was pronounced dead.

According to the attorney’s office, another child found a loaded pistol in Jones’ kitchen and it “went off, hitting and killing” the 6-year-old.

Jones is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to prior felony convictions, the attorney’s office said.

Source: CBS