MILWAUKEE — The father charged in connection to the fatal shooting of his 5-year-old son has been sentenced to 12 years behind bars.
Court records Thursday show Jamal Anderson is set to spend 12 years in prison with eight years of extended supervision.
Anderson was charged with one count of Neglecting a Child (Consequence is Death) in July. He plead guilty to the charge, and so two other charges he was facing - Possess w/ Intent-THC and Possess w/Intent-Heroin - were dismissed as part of his plea agreement.
According to a criminal complaint, police responded to a shooting at 5338 N. Lovers Lane Road on Feb 11. Police found the 5-year-old boy, Jamal Anderson Jr., on the floor, not breathing. Emergency services personnel performed life-saving measures, but the child later died.
Police interviewed Anderson, the victim's father, who claimed he was leaving his apartment when two people confronted him. They forced Anderson back into his apartment, pushed the 5-year-old onto the couch, and fired a shot.
The suspects then grabbed a laptop bag, Apple laptop, credit cards, and fled the scene.
According to the complaint, police found that backpack, "partially buried in the snowbank," outside the apartment building. Inside, they found the gun that killed the 5-year-old boy, heroin, marijuana, cash, a debit card, bullets, and Anderson's ID.
Additional evidence included a text message to Anderson from his roommate warning Anderson to keep his son out of rooms with firearms. Also, police found photos of Anderson holding the gun used to kill the victim.
Due to these findings, police brought Anderson into custody for questioning. While in custody, Anderson changed his story several times. He initially had said the gun found and used to kill his son, wasn't his, but after further questioning, Anderson admitted to owning the gun.
A bit further into the questioning, Anderson brought up two names, Tracy and Domo. He said they were the ones in the apartment when the shot went off. Anderson told police that Domo had the gun in his lap when Anderson went outside.
According to the complaint, however, "the defendant could not provide any information to assist law enforcement with identifying 'Tracy' or 'Domo' or verifying that those individuals do in fact exist."
