MINNEAPOLIS — The Welcome, Minnesota man accused of manslaughter in the accidental shooting death of his 2-year-old son by his older sibling filed a petition to plead guilty Monday, allowing him to avoid jail time.
In court documents filed in Martin County on March 18, Colton Mammenga, 33, petitioned to plead guilty to endangerment of a child by firearm access in a deal with prosecutors. With his guilty plea, the filing said Mammenga will not be required to serve any jail time or pay a fine, but must complete a presentence investigation and attend speaking engagements about the dangers of negligent firearm storage every year while on probation.
The filing said other terms, like the duration of probation, will be discussed at Mammenga's forthcoming sentencing, which court records indicate will occur in April.
According to the criminal complaint, Mammenga was traveling in his vehicle with his 4- and 2-year-old sons on Oct. 15, 2023, when the older child found a loaded handgun in the backseat and accidentally shot the toddler, also sitting in the backseat.
The complaint goes on to say the 2-year-old was rushed to the hospital but died two days later from his wounds.
Investigators later spoke with Mammenga and the children's mother, who allegedly told them the kids had been loaded into their car seats and Mammenga had stored his gun in the passenger-side door pocket before briefly running back up to the house.
Prosecutors said Mammenga told them the vehicle was in motion when he suddenly heard a loud pop, looked into the backseat and saw his son had been wounded.
Documents said Mammenga claimed he didn't notice the gun was missing from the door until after the shooting.
The children's mother added that when he's traveling in his vehicle, Mammenga would regularly remove his handgun from his waistband and place it in the door storage compartment.
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