JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 36-year-old man has been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the apparent accidental shooting death Sunday of a child in Jacksonville.
Alexander Sibley was booked shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday into the Duval County jail, online jail records show.
At his first appearance Monday, he was ordered held on $150,000 bond and was told that if he bonds out, he’s not to possess a firearm.
In court, the judge said she reviewed Sibley’s history, which included a prior trafficking cocaine conviction. According to Florida Department of Corrections records, Sibley was convicted of trafficking cocaine in Duval County, sentenced to prison in 2015 and then released in 2016. Court documents also show Sibley was a habitual traffic offender.
Sibley’s next court date is set for April 26.
According to Lt. J. Stronko, with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, police were called just before 1 p.m. Sunday to a residence on Crimson Leaf Lane on the Westside to assist units with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. Investigators said a 3-year-old boy was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“Certainly when you’re investigating a shooting death and there are other crimes that occur, such as possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, that’s going to be the first and easiest arrest to make and then they can continue the investigation for the homicide itself,” said attorney Shannon Schott, a partner at Plata Schott who is not affiliated with the case.
On Sunday, JSO explained that the shooting appeared to be an accident. However, Schott said, Sibley or someone else in the home could face criminal negligence charges.
“There could certainly be some culpable negligence here. There could be child neglect as a result of this,” Schott said. “There will be a lot more questions going through the investigators’ minds as they are investigating this shooting death in a home of someone who they know should not have had a gun at all.”
Schott also said more charges could be coming especially depending on the relationship between the child and Sibley.
“How did the child get their hands on the gun, the relationship to the child and the adult who has been arrested, and certainly, if there is a parental relationship there, there could certainly be some child neglect involved, criminal child neglect,” Schott said. “If the child came into the home and it was not the child’s home, there is certainly no culpability on the part of the parent who had no idea that there was a gun lying around, but if this child lived in the home or any child who lives in the home, the parents have to understand you do have to be very mindful of where a gun is kept.”
News4JAX on Monday went to the home to ask the family if there was anything they wanted the public to know. A woman at the home told said the family simply wants to grieve and have their privacy as they mourn the loss of one of their youngest family members.