A Gary man got a split sentence Friday after admitting he shot his girlfriend’s brother, then 13, in 2019, records show.
Ryant Jones, 29, pleaded guilty Aug. 2 to battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony.
He was sentenced to 15 months in jail and 21 months on probation.
In exchange for the plea deal, prosecutors dropped several charges — neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, criminal recklessness and a misdemeanor.
Records show the 13-year-old’s shooting came to light after Jones was investigated for shooting the woman’s three-year-old son in February 2021. The teen told police Jones had shot him back in December 2019.
Public court filings do not show a record of charges in the toddler’s case.
The teen told police he got into an argument with Jones back in 2019 after he yelled at his nephew, then 1. About a week later, Jones asked if he “wanted to go shoot a gun” in the wooded area behind their house on the 1700 block of East 7th Avenue.
The boy, then 13, said Jones took him out in the woods. He shot four rounds, while Jones shot the rest, striking him in the arm and groin, records allege.
He went back and laid by a car, while his sister took him to the hospital. He made up a story about getting shot while walking down 7th Avenue with Jones, because he “thought it was an accident.” He later admitted Jones had a handgun in the woods.
When his nephew, now 3, was shot, the boy reconsidered and realized the earlier shooting was “probably intentional,” documents state. Initially, people said the nephew “shot himself,” which the teen knew was not true, charging documents state.
Referencing the earlier shooting, Jones told police the teen “fell in front of both bullets.”
On Feb. 3, 2021, an Indiana Department of Child Services caseworker told detectives the child, 3, said Jones had shot him, but “he was being good.”
The case was before Judge Natalie Bokota, with Deputy Prosecutor Jacob Brandewie assigned and defense lawyer Tim Bianco representing Jones.
