A Bono man was arrested Friday by the Greene County sheriff’s office and charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of his 3-year-old son.
Logan Carter died Jan. 11 after being shot in the head at his home at 1187 Greene County Road 336. His father, 23-yearold Michael Carter, was purportedly holding the Springfield .45-caliber handgun that fired and killed the child, Sheriff Dan Langston said.
Prosecutor Scott Ellington said he doesn’t believe Carter intended to kill his son, but that he intended to pull the trigger and in doing so demonstrated a “disregard for the potential to damage human life.”
“If you pull a trigger on a handgun and it’s facing in the direction of a child, whether the gun is loaded or not loaded, it can’t stand,” Ellington said.
Carter had been cutting wood outside before the shooting, which happened in the living room, Langston said. Carter wrapped his injured son in a T-shirt and had his girlfriend, Sarah Baker, call 911. There were no ambulances in the area, so he drove 18 miles to Arkansas Methodist Hospital in Paragould. Logan was dead on arrival, Langston said.
The couple’s 10-month-old daughter was also at the home during the shooting. The bullet exited Logan’s head and traveled into the kitchen, where it lodged in a wall, Langston said. No one else was injured in the shooting.
Ellington said Saturday that prosecutors hadn’t discussed the possibility of more charges in the case.
The handgun purportedly used in the shooting has grip and trigger safety mechanisms.
“Certainly had he had the safety mechanisms in place, we wouldn’t be talking about this right now,” Ellington said.
An arrest warrant for Carter was issued Thursday. Deputies took him into custody the following morning about 5 a.m. He’s being held in the Greene County jail in lieu of $1 million bond, and his first court appearance is scheduled for Monday.
Arkansas, Pages 14 on 01/19/2014