JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The man held for more than three months on a charge that he provided the gun that killed 12-year-old Tony Youmans appeared in court on Thursday morning to face a new charge: manslaughter.
Derrick Glover, 23, was arrested July 31, the day Youmans' body was found in woods near his Westside home. The medical examiner ruled the boy died of a gunshot wound to the head, but the gun was not found and homicide detectives never said who shot him.
Glover, charged only with furnishing a weapon to a minor, was held on $100,000 bond while police and the state attorney's office continued to investigate.
Glover appeared in court at 11 a.m. to hear the upgraded charge against him.
The arrest report on the manslaughter charge contains new information, saying "Glover did sell and/or transfer a loaded gun to victim Tony Youmans" on July 29. A juvenile witness told investigators that Youmans left Glover's apartment with the gun and went to a vacant lot nearby, where he was shot and killed.
Police have still not said whether the gunshot was self-inflicted, but the autopsy report found gunpowder residue on Youmans' hand.
The report said a friend with Youmans at the time of the shooting then returned the gun to Glover's apartment with the gun. Glover allegedly took possession of the gun and told the friend not to tell anyone what happened.
Youmans' body was not found for another two days.
Later in the investigation, police found a .32-caliber handgun that could be the weapon that killed Youmans at the home of Glover's uncle.
"To be honest, I'm pleased that he's charged with that," said Kelly Kidd, Youmans' mother. "And that hurts because it's not going to bring him back."
Over the past several months, Youmans' parents have expressed frustration that police had no definitive answers about how their son died.
"It's justice, slowly, but it's still justice," father Mike Youmans said Thursday morning.
Glover's family said they don't believe their loved one did anything wrong.
"My daddy loves kids. He loves me. He wouldn't hurt -- if he saw somebody getting hurt right now, he would stop and help them," said Glover's daughter, Telisha Glover.
"He is innocent. He did not do that," said Glover's wife, Lisa Dasher. "It's very untrue because he would never do anything like that. He loves kids too much to even think about doing anything like that. My sympathy does go out to his family, Tony Youmans' family, but they have the wrong person. Derrick did not do this."
Along with the manslaughter charge, Glover is facing three other charges, including providing a firearm to a minor.
Glover's next date in court is Dec. 13, when a motions hearing will take place. His trial expected to begin in January.
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