Charges filed in fatal shooting of boy, 3

A Racine man was charged Wednesday with the fatal shooting of his 3year-old son.

Jeffery Pitt Jr., 30, faces three criminal charges: first-degree reckless homicide; firstdegree recklessly endangering safety; and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Pitt told investigators a borrowed gun accidentally discharged while he was sleeping with the boy. Pitt said he wasn’t aware the gun had been fired and never woke up until the next morning.

According to the criminal complaint filed Wednesday, Racine police investigated a report that a child died in the upper unit on Howe St. on July 12.

Investigators found the child on the floor with a gunshot wound through his chest and a 40-caliber bullet casing next to the body. He was pronounced dead just before 8 a.m. that day.

Pitt told investigators he had consumed about five shots of alcohol on July 11 before returning home around 7 p.m. Once home, he fell asleep with his son Jeremiah and another son next to him while watching a movie.

Pitt had originally denied owning or possessing any firearms in the home, but a few hours later admitted that he had a friend’s .40-caliber handgun, which he loaded and tucked in his waistband when he went to sleep. Pitt was convicted in 2006 of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine and is not allowed to possess a firearm.

Pitt returned the gun to 26-year-old Laquan Russell and asked him to dispose of the weapon. Russell was also in court Wednesday and is charged with resisting or obstructing an officer, and harboring or aiding a felon.