Teh One Who Knocks
05-11-2011, 01:37 PM
By Will Greenlee - Treasure Coast Palm
http://i.imgur.com/ta5pi.jpg
PORT ST. LUCIE — A man accused of giving a 4-year-old relative a BB gun and sending him Monday to ring doorbells at three homes faces charges, according to records released Tuesday.
Shanito Howard, 20, of the 4000 block of Southwest McIntosh Street in Port St. Lucie, was arrested on charges of felony child abuse and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a child following the Monday night incidents.
The 4-year-old boy's mother told Port St. Lucie police she recently told Howard's father she felt Howard was "'losing it,'" a report states. Howard is a relative of the boy, according to an arrest affidavit.
A Port St. Lucie police officer was dispatched about 9:35 p.m. to an address in the 600 block of Southwest Jaffe Avenue. A 34-year-old woman said her door bell rang and when she went to the door she saw a young boy with what looked to be a firearm in his hands. She said a man called to the child, "Let's go. They have dogs."
He then told the boy he " 'shouldn't do that.' " He apologized and they left.
As the woman called 911, she followed the two.
A 16-year-old girl at another home in the 600 block of Southwest Jaffe Avenue said her doorbell rang and she asked who it was. She heard a small boy say a name, which he repeated when she said she didn't know anyone by that name.
She opened the door and saw a small child with a handgun. She said a man ran up, saying, " 'How did you get up there? Oh, I'm sorry.' "
She said she slammed the door and saw the man start looking in her vehicle.
A similar incident apparently played out at a home in the 4000 block of Southwest McCrory Street. An 18-year-old man there convinced the child to give him the gun, and he realized it was an "air soft" BB gun. He said he returned the gun to the man, who apologized and said they were " 'just playing.' "
Howard initially told police he had not been walking with the 4-year-old boy, but the child said they had. When the child's mother asked Howard if he took the child out, he said, " 'We were just walking.' "
The child said he didn't have anything in his hand, but Howard pulled out a large, brightly colored water gun "which was not what the witnesses had described."
"I explained to (the boy's mother) that witnesses in the neighborhood had been contacted by Shanito and (the boy) and that (the boy) had been armed with a BB gun that appeared to be an actual handgun," a report states.
The mother said she didn't know Howard took her son out.
The mother found a BB gun that looked like a Glock handgun on her television entertainment center.
Howard declined to speak with investigators, saying he didn't want to get in more trouble, police said.
http://i.imgur.com/ta5pi.jpg
PORT ST. LUCIE — A man accused of giving a 4-year-old relative a BB gun and sending him Monday to ring doorbells at three homes faces charges, according to records released Tuesday.
Shanito Howard, 20, of the 4000 block of Southwest McIntosh Street in Port St. Lucie, was arrested on charges of felony child abuse and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a child following the Monday night incidents.
The 4-year-old boy's mother told Port St. Lucie police she recently told Howard's father she felt Howard was "'losing it,'" a report states. Howard is a relative of the boy, according to an arrest affidavit.
A Port St. Lucie police officer was dispatched about 9:35 p.m. to an address in the 600 block of Southwest Jaffe Avenue. A 34-year-old woman said her door bell rang and when she went to the door she saw a young boy with what looked to be a firearm in his hands. She said a man called to the child, "Let's go. They have dogs."
He then told the boy he " 'shouldn't do that.' " He apologized and they left.
As the woman called 911, she followed the two.
A 16-year-old girl at another home in the 600 block of Southwest Jaffe Avenue said her doorbell rang and she asked who it was. She heard a small boy say a name, which he repeated when she said she didn't know anyone by that name.
She opened the door and saw a small child with a handgun. She said a man ran up, saying, " 'How did you get up there? Oh, I'm sorry.' "
She said she slammed the door and saw the man start looking in her vehicle.
A similar incident apparently played out at a home in the 4000 block of Southwest McCrory Street. An 18-year-old man there convinced the child to give him the gun, and he realized it was an "air soft" BB gun. He said he returned the gun to the man, who apologized and said they were " 'just playing.' "
Howard initially told police he had not been walking with the 4-year-old boy, but the child said they had. When the child's mother asked Howard if he took the child out, he said, " 'We were just walking.' "
The child said he didn't have anything in his hand, but Howard pulled out a large, brightly colored water gun "which was not what the witnesses had described."
"I explained to (the boy's mother) that witnesses in the neighborhood had been contacted by Shanito and (the boy) and that (the boy) had been armed with a BB gun that appeared to be an actual handgun," a report states.
The mother said she didn't know Howard took her son out.
The mother found a BB gun that looked like a Glock handgun on her television entertainment center.
Howard declined to speak with investigators, saying he didn't want to get in more trouble, police said.