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www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~1656822,00.html
Uncle lied about incident, police say
By MELISSA PINION-WHITTSTAFF WRITER
ONTARIO — A 2-year-old boy was shot in the chest Wednesday while playing with a gun with his uncle, who police said delayed seeking medical attention for two hours and then lied about the shooting.
Police doubted Felipe Quezada's claim that the boy, who is expected to survive, was shot by a stranger in a Chino park. Quezada, 21, then told investigators he found the gun a couple months ago and kept it in his house in the 1200 block of Caroline Court in Ontario. He told police he thought it wasn't loaded.
"Basically, this thing had been sitting around and he thought it was inoperable," Chino police Detective Val Falcon said. "The child got a hold of the gun. He took it away from him several times and eventually he turned around to the child, went "Bang, bang' and it went off."
The boy, whose name was not released because of his age, was taken to Chino Valley Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition Thursday.
Quezada was initially booked into West Valley Detention Center in lieu of $500,000 bail, but because he was on probation, police were able to hold him without bail, said Ontario police Sgt. John Evans. He was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and child endangerment.
"We charged him with child endangerment primarily because he had an opportunity to call 911. He had an opportunity to drive to or notify San Antonio Community Hospital, which was just blocks away from where he resides," Evans said.
Quezada was on probation for a November 2001 statutory rape from Chino, court records show. He pleaded guilty to the charge in April 2002, and was sentenced to three years' probation and 90 days in county jail, according to court records.
Chino police came to the hospital at 3:34 p.m. Wednesday on a report that someone had been shot at Cypress Trails Park in Chino.
Quezada, who had driven his nephew to the hospital, told police they were in the park at 6571 Schaefer Ave. and the boy was shot by an unknown person.
"He just said the kid was playing on the playground. He said, "Come on junior, we're getting ready to leave' and then saw him with a hole in his torso," Falcon said.
Quezada told police he found a gun in the park and left it there. Chino police later recovered the .22-caliber handgun south of the playground, Falcon said.
Ontario police joined Chino in the investigation when police discovered the shooting actually occurred in Quezada's home, police said.
Officers from both agencies searched the home late Wednesday and seized evidence proving the shooting happened there, Evans said. Quezada lived in the home with his infant daughter and his daughter's mother. They shared the home with Quezada's sister and another man -- the parents of the wounded boy.
No gun safe was found in the home, Evans said.
"We saw nothing that would indicate that a safe place was provided for keeping the weapon and that is a law," Evans said. "In California, if you have weapons, they must be locked so that accidents don't occur."
Relatives living with Quezada could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Melissa Pinion-Whitt can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (909) 483-9378.
Uncle lied about incident, police say
By MELISSA PINION-WHITTSTAFF WRITER
ONTARIO — A 2-year-old boy was shot in the chest Wednesday while playing with a gun with his uncle, who police said delayed seeking medical attention for two hours and then lied about the shooting.
Police doubted Felipe Quezada's claim that the boy, who is expected to survive, was shot by a stranger in a Chino park. Quezada, 21, then told investigators he found the gun a couple months ago and kept it in his house in the 1200 block of Caroline Court in Ontario. He told police he thought it wasn't loaded.
"Basically, this thing had been sitting around and he thought it was inoperable," Chino police Detective Val Falcon said. "The child got a hold of the gun. He took it away from him several times and eventually he turned around to the child, went "Bang, bang' and it went off."
The boy, whose name was not released because of his age, was taken to Chino Valley Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition Thursday.
Quezada was initially booked into West Valley Detention Center in lieu of $500,000 bail, but because he was on probation, police were able to hold him without bail, said Ontario police Sgt. John Evans. He was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and child endangerment.
"We charged him with child endangerment primarily because he had an opportunity to call 911. He had an opportunity to drive to or notify San Antonio Community Hospital, which was just blocks away from where he resides," Evans said.
Quezada was on probation for a November 2001 statutory rape from Chino, court records show. He pleaded guilty to the charge in April 2002, and was sentenced to three years' probation and 90 days in county jail, according to court records.
Chino police came to the hospital at 3:34 p.m. Wednesday on a report that someone had been shot at Cypress Trails Park in Chino.
Quezada, who had driven his nephew to the hospital, told police they were in the park at 6571 Schaefer Ave. and the boy was shot by an unknown person.
"He just said the kid was playing on the playground. He said, "Come on junior, we're getting ready to leave' and then saw him with a hole in his torso," Falcon said.
Quezada told police he found a gun in the park and left it there. Chino police later recovered the .22-caliber handgun south of the playground, Falcon said.
Ontario police joined Chino in the investigation when police discovered the shooting actually occurred in Quezada's home, police said.
Officers from both agencies searched the home late Wednesday and seized evidence proving the shooting happened there, Evans said. Quezada lived in the home with his infant daughter and his daughter's mother. They shared the home with Quezada's sister and another man -- the parents of the wounded boy.
No gun safe was found in the home, Evans said.
"We saw nothing that would indicate that a safe place was provided for keeping the weapon and that is a law," Evans said. "In California, if you have weapons, they must be locked so that accidents don't occur."
Relatives living with Quezada could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Melissa Pinion-Whitt can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (909) 483-9378.
I assume this guy's elevator doesn't go all the way to the top?
