PONTIAC (WWJ) -- The parents of a 3-year-old boy who was fatally shot inside a Pontiac home on Tuesday are now facing charges under Michigan's Safe Storage Law.
Kasharae Kristine Herron, 31, and Michael Duriel Lacy, 39, were each arraigned Sept. 18 in 50th District Court on Friday.
Both face one count of Firearms – Safe Storage Violations – Premises Under Individual’s Control – Minor Present and Inflicted Death Upon Self or Another, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.
The judge set bond for each parent at $25,000 cash or surety with a GPS tether required if they are released.
Deputies responded to a condominium on Maynard Court — near University Drive and Woodward Avenue — at around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15, following a report that a child had been shot in the head.
First responders immediately transported the 3-year-old boy to McLaren Oakland Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Four other children — ages 8 months, 4, 7, and 8 — were inside the residence at the time of the shooting, along with Herron and the children's grandmother.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Lacy fled the residence before deputies arrived but returned to the area later Tuesday evening, where detectives took him into custody without incident.
Investigators determined the shooting occurred in the basement. Crime Lab personnel processed the scene and recovered a Taurus 9 mm handgun registered to Lacy, along with two spent shell casings and a bullet fragment.
During interviews, both Lacy and Herron allegedly admitted to detectives that they knew the loaded firearm was left unsecured in the basement.
While initial reports indicated that the kids found the weapon, officials are still working to determine who pulled the trigger.
Detectives completed Care House forensic interviews with the surviving children, and Child Protective Services executed a judicial removal order for all four remaining kids.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard condemned the lack of safe storage, noting that his office offers free gun locks to the public.
“On every level, this tragedy was 100% preventable. Both suspects knew there was a loaded, unsecured firearm in a home with five children under the age of eight, and now a three-year-old child is dead,” Bouchard said. “With great rights come equally great responsibilities — and among the most sacred is protecting our children. Nothing that happens in a courtroom can undo this horrific loss or ease this family’s pain, but there must be accountability for the reckless behavior that led to it.”
The parents will be back in court for a probable cause conference scheduled for Sept. 29.
