A Columbia suspect in the 2023 shooting death of a three-year-old child has been sentenced to ten years in prison on amended charges, after Boone County prosecutors drop second degree murder charges.
939 the Eagle News was in Boone County Circuit Court on Monday morning when 31-year-old Larry Brownlee Jr. pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm. Judge Stephanie Morrell accepted the guilty plea and the recommended sentence of ten years in prison for Brownlee, with credit for time served.
Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson tells 939 the Eagle that the state’s allegation was that Brownlee left a firearm in a room with the three-year-old. Johnson says it’s not known what caused the gun to go off, saying the gun fired hitting and killing the child. As a convicted felon, Brownlee was not allowed to have a gun under the law.
The Columbia Police Department’s redacted probable cause statement in this case quotes the child’s mother as telling CPD investigators that Brownlee asked her multiple times “not to tell on him.” Boone County assistant prosecutor Tony Gonzalez read a statement in open court on behalf of the mother. The mother’s statement says she has a broken heart and that the child’s smile brought life. Prosecutor Gonzalez choked-up in court, while reading the statement.