Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


The mother of a toddler who died as a result of an alleged accidental shooting in the City of Howell has entered a plea.

At a pre-trial hearing in Livingston County Circuit Court Thursday, 42-year-old Tonya Lacey pleaded no contest to a single felony count of 2nd degree child abuse. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.

The charge was filed against the mother of the 2-year-old child for allegedly allowing the toddler to gain access to an unsecured firearm that resulted in the accidental shooting on June 11th in the family’s home in the Rolling Oaks subdivision. Despite being rushed to a hospital; the child was pronounced dead. The child’s father is a member of the Dearborn Police Department.

Howell Police earlier said “This was a tragic accident caused by an adult failing to properly secure a firearm that sadly made its way into the hands of a curious 2-year-old child”.

Lacey was home alone with the child. Police said the father of the child was not present when the incident occurred, and the firearm that was involved was not registered or connected to him.

Lacey remains free on a personal bond. As part the plea, delayed sentencing was set for April 18th.