Oildale man takes plea deal after son, 3, shoots sister, 6
Dec 11, 2024
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- A man whose 3-year-old son accidentally shot his 6-year-old sister in the leg has pleaded no contest to felony charges -- admitting to investigators he left the gun unsecured for hours in an Oildale apartment.
The girl suffered a gunshot wound to her upper right thigh and received stitches, according to a court document.
Ruben Guerra pleaded no contest Tuesday to two felony counts -- child cruelty and criminal storage of a firearm, according to court records. He's scheduled to be sentenced next month.
Prosecutors say he faces felony probation with 90 days in custody, 52 weeks of parenting classes, a criminal protective order and can be searched for weapons.
Guerra, who works as a security guard, admitted to using methamphetamine about a week before the shooting, and said he also uses marijuana, according to a warrant filed in Superior Court.
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His wife, Cheyenne Carroll, also said she smokes marijuana, the document said. She's facing a misdemeanor child cruelty charge.
The shooting occurred the morning of Nov. 23 at an apartment in the 300 block of Roberts Lane, according to the filing.
Guerra told sheriff's investigators he arrived home from work the night before and wasn't feeling well. He placed the gun on a dresser in the master bedroom and went to the bathroom, then woke up Carroll for work.
She left around 11 p.m. and he went to sleep. Guerra said he got up several times in the night -- he had a stomach bug -- but forgot about the gun.
Around 7 a.m. he was back in the bathroom when he heard a gunshot.
Guerra said he ran into the bedroom and saw his son holding the gun and his daughter wounded.
He said he wrapped a blanket around the wound and kept pressure on it. Then he called his wife to come home and stay with the boy and their other children -- they have 2-year-old twins -- while he took the daughter to a hospital.
Carroll told investigators she never noticed the gun when she got ready for work. She said her husband lost the key to the gun case and had been storing the gun in a closet, the weapon and ammunition placed on opposite shelves.
Deputies who inspected the home found "multiple layers of dried feces" and feces on the wall, according to the warrant. They also found cockroaches, and trash and food covered the floor, the document said.