Mother of 6-year-old who shot teacher in Virginia is sentenced to 21 months
The mother of a 6-year-old who shot his first-grade teacher in a Virginia classroom was sentenced Wednesday to one year and nine months in prison after pleading guilty in June to using marijuana while possessing a firearm and making false made statements about drugs. usage.
The conviction of 26-year-old mother, Deja Taylor, was the latest development in a shooting spree that shocked the country in January when authorities detailed how a child had taken a gun from his home, put it in his backpack and brought along. to Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia.
There, authorities said, the boy pulled the gun in a classroom, pointed it at his teacher, Abigail Zwerner, and fired. The bullet passed through her hand and hit her chest, causing serious injuries.
Although recreational marijuana is allowed in Virginia, federal laws prohibit addicted or “illicit” drug users from owning a gun.
Federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Eastern Virginia argued that Ms. Taylor was a “marijuana abuser whose chronic, persistent and even life-threatening abuse” extended the case beyond any recreational use.
Ms. Taylor’s attorney, Gene Rossi, said by phone Wednesday that his client “feels remorseful for the unintended consequences of her actions.”
“She feels incredibly remorseful and has a deep sense of guilt,” Mr. Rossi said, adding that Ms. Taylor “has serious addiction and mental health issues that partially caused the incident that led to her son gaining control of the gun.”
In August, Ms. Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of child neglect. Her sentencing in that case is scheduled for December.
Earlier this month, a judge ruled that Ms. Zwerner could move forward with a $40 million lawsuit against the Newport News Public Schools.
The child, who will live with his great-grandfather while his mother serves her prison sentence, will not be charged.
On January 12, six days after the shooting at Richneck Elementary School, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched the trash bin at Ms. Taylor’s home and found “large quantities of marijuana and packaging for marijuana edibles.” according to prosecutors.
Officers then searched her grandfather’s home and found more marijuana in her bedroom; they also searched her purse and found a glass jar containing marijuana, marijuana cigarettes and marijuana packaging materials, according to court records.
Court records show that on July 19, Ms. Taylor filled out a federal form required to purchase a firearm and checked a box indicating she was not an “unlawful user of or addicted to marijuana.”
But prosecutors argued that Ms. Taylor checked that box knowing she was “an unlawful user of marijuana” when she purchased the firearm.
Ms. Taylor’s son told investigators after the shooting that he obtained the gun by climbing onto a dresser. Prosecutors said Ms. Taylor told investigators she may not have put the trigger lock on her gun the night before the shooting.
Prosecutors said the case “underscored the inherently dangerous nature and circumstances resulting from the combination of marijuana use and a deadly firearm.