Mother of Richneck shooter to turn herself in
NEWPORT NEWS — The mother of the 6-year-old shooter at Richneck Elementary School will turn herself in by week’s end under an agreement with Newport News prosecutors, her attorney said Tuesday.
And 25-year-old Deja Nicole Taylor — charged with felony child neglect and a misdemeanor charge of recklessly leaving a firearm so as to endanger a child — will work “collaboratively” with prosecutors as the case proceeds, he vowed.
“Deja has cooperated from the first day of the incident,” attorney James Ellenson said, noting that Taylor — a mother of one — has no prior criminal record.
“Most criminal prosecutions are adversarial in nature, but we will make our best efforts so that these proceedings will be more collaborative than most,” the veteran lawyer said.
Ellenson said he hopes the relationships he’s developed in more than four decades as a lawyer — he’s been practicing in Newport News since 1981 — will help lead to a “satisfactory result” for all parties.
“As always, first and foremost is the continued health and wellbeing of all persons involved in the incident at Richneck Elementary School, including the teacher and Deja’s son,” Ellenson said.
Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew has said the boy used his mother’s handgun, a Taurus 9mm, to shoot his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, in a Richneck classroom on Jan. 6.
The chief said Taylor legally purchased the firearm in York County, with the boy bringing it to school in his backpack.
She faces up to six years behind bars if convicted of the charges.
A Newport News grand jury on Monday indicted Taylor on a felony child neglect count, punishable by up to five years behind bars. Prosecutors contend her “willful act or omission” in caring for her son showed “a reckless disregard for human life.”
The grand jury also indicted Taylor on the misdemeanor charge of “allowing access to firearms by children.”
For that charge, punishable by up to a year in jail, she’s accused of “recklessly leaving a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any child under the age of fourteen.”
After Taylor turns herself in this week, prosecutors have recommended she can be released on a $5,000 bond with surety.
If a Newport News magistrate accepts that agreement, Taylor could remain free pending by paying only 10% of the total amount— $500 — to a bail bondsman. Or she could post $5,000 in property to back her promise to return for future hearings.
“This is a good first step towards a just resolution of the charges,” Ellenson said, terming the bond amount “reasonable.”
As for the charges themselves, Taylor strongly maintains she kept the gun secured by a trigger lock, a mechanism that prevents the weapon from being fired, Ellenson said.
Moreover, the attorney asserts the handgun was stored on the top shelf of a bedroom closet, out of the child’s reach. Ellenson said Taylor has “no idea” how the boy gained access to the gun on the day of the shooting.