A convicted felon has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison after a child was accidentally shot in the head and killed by a juvenile.
Authorities said 28-year-old Anthony Patrick Sanders had left a gun at an apartment he was staying at on Lewis Street. A juvenile picked up the gun on June 6, 2017 and accidentally shot and killed 7-year-old Harmony Warfield.
Authorities said Sanders, also known as "Ant" and "Lil A," had been released from prison in June 2016 after he was convicted of kidnapping in 2008.
Reports stated he began frequenting the J.C. Napier Housing Development in February 2017 where he allegedly began selling heroin regularly.
Authorities said he was known to carry a firearm when he was selling heroin, and he was also known to stay at the apartment on Lewis Street.
He stayed there on the night of June 5, 2017, and the next morning, he went outside and left a loaded pistol within easy access to anyone in the apartment. Not long after, a juvenile picked up the gun and accidentally killed Warfield.
Sanders reportedly went back into the apartment and found the child on the kitchen floor with a gunshot wound to her head.
Police said he grabbed the gun and fled from the area.
He was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 12, 2017 and pleaded guilty on November 7, 2017.
Wednesday, authorities confirmed he was sentenced to the statutory maximum of ten years in prison for being a felon in possession of two firearms. One of those killed Warfield.
According to court records, three other children, ages 2, 11, and 14, were in the apartment when the fatal shooting happened.
Before he was captured, Sanders had also reportedly fled to a town near Columbus, Ohio. Once there, he hid the firearm that was later recovered by ATF agents.
Authorities said Sanders allegedly made threatening comments that were directed at the person he thought helped officials recover the gun.
It was also discovered Sanders had taken the gun from someone in May 2017 after a fight in the Cayce Homes public housing development.
