A man charged with second-degree murder after his 3-year-old son accidentally shot himself in the head in July 2020 has entered a guilty plea to lesser charges.
Denzel Thomas, 27, pleaded guilty Aug. 9 to involuntary manslaughter, cruelty to children in the second degree and reckless conduct. Prosecutors dropped the murder charge as part of the plea deal.
Thomas was sentenced under first offender status to five years to serve 25 days with the remaining balance on probation. Judge Robert McBurney said Thomas will serve 10 consecutive two-day periods, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, at the Fulton County Jail, to allow him to continue working.
“There is nothing I can, in terms of handing down a sentence, that would be worse than you holding your dying son in your arms,” McBurney told Thomas during sentencing.
Ashley Crystal Kelly, the boy’s mother and Thomas’ girlfriend at the time, was originally arrested and charged but prosecutors said charges against her were never presented to a grand jury.
Kelly described Thomas as a good dad to his other son, who is 2. The two no longer live together.
Officers were sent to a home on Manor Lane about 11 a.m., officials said. The child, identified as Aiden Kelly, had shot himself, according to police.
Thomas told McBurney that he owned the gun for protection and that the child found the gun under a mattress.
“I regret that day so much. It’s hard to think about. We miss Aiden so much,” Thomas said.
The boy was rushed to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding in critical condition. Aiden died hours later.
