CHEVERLY, Md. — A 20-year-old Maryland man facing charges after a 4-year-old girl shot herself with a gun he's accused of leaving out was called "dangerous" by a judge Tuesday, and held without bond.
Police say the child found Jayvon Thomas' loaded ghost gun under a bed Sunday night during a game of hide-and-seek. She then shot herself in the arm. Thomas was charged with possessing the weapon and leaving it unsecured.
"A 4-year-old girl shot themselves," Prince George's County Police Chief Malik Aziz said. "It’s something they don’t understand -- it’s just a toy. As you can imagine that girl will need some TLC."
In court Tuesday, WUSA9 learned that Thomas is also harged in the killing of a well known professional boxer, 24-year-old Anwar Wingate. The homicide took place last November in Northwest, D.C., and Thomas was one of two men arrested and charged with first-degree murder in January.
The U.S. Attorney for D.C. tells WUSA9 that despite their objections, Thomas was given pre-trial release by a judge in April. The Prince George’s County State's Attorney, Aisha Braveboy, said it never should have happened.
“It would have been the right decision for him to be held in the District of Columbia, but now he’s here and he was, we believe, in possession of a ghost gun," Braveboy said. "A gun that a child was able to get possession of and harm themselves. This is not someone we believe can be in our community safely.”
Wingate’s grandfather told WUSA9 the family is absolutely heartbroken to hear Thomas is now charged in another incident involving guns, and that this time a child was hurt. He’s hoping the judge will do better this time.
Thomas is due back in court on July 26.
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