Woman sentenced to halfway house for accidental shooting

The mother of a 6-yearold Fort Collins boy who was killed in an accidental shooting last year has been sentenced to the Larimer County Community Corrections program.

Rosinetta Mackall, 41, appeared before 8th Judicial District Court Judge Sarah Cure on Thursday afternoon where Cure sentenced her to 12 years in the Community Corrections program following her guilty plea in December to child abuse resulting in death as an act of criminal negligence, a class 3 felony.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Erica Kasemodel said the incident has had long-reaching effects on Mackall’s life, her family through the loss of Roy Summers, her 6-yearold son.

She added that the presentence investigation report illustrated a history of untreated mental illness and abusive relationships, including with codefendant Ronald Matthews, who was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation after he pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence, a class 6 felony.

“It is very clear there was toxicity and abuse happening both directions within this relationship, but we are here today with respect to this defendant and her statements and her actions and her choices that ultimately led to her taking the firearm that ultimately killed her 6-yearold and placing it in that bathroom where he showers every single day,” Kasemodel said.

James Colgan, Mackall’s attorney, said he believed that had Mackall’s mental health been in order at the time “we wouldn’t be here.”

“She has to live with the fact she will not have her son for the rest of her life,” he said. “That is punishment, but that doesn’t mean she does not have significant … mental health issues she needs to address. Until she gets those significant mental health issues taken care of, she is never going to be with her (other) children.”

Should Mackall want to have a life with her other children in the future, Colgan said, she will have a lot of work to do. He also said she recognizes it will not change overnight, adding he believes the resolution they reached is the most appropriate sentence.

Colgan also read a prepared statement written by Mackall, who grew emotional as her attorney read the letter.

She wrote that she and her family are at a deep loss over Summers’ death.

“Nothing I will endure can equate the loss of our child,” she wrote. “I would agree to the harshest of sentences if only I could have Roy back.”

While Cure agreed that the resolution was appropriate, she noted the case shows the gaps in the system to protect children. She also reiterated a comment Colgan made in his arguments, saying no one can change what happened.

“We can’t go back, and we can’t bring the child back,” she said. “This is a fair resolution considering all of the circumstances. Ms. Mackall has very much to lose if she doesn’t use the tools in Community Corrections to do what she says, to better herself so she can be better for ( her) children, hopefully.”

Cure ultimately accepted the agreement and sentenced Mackall to 12 years in the Larimer County Community Corrections.

Fort Collins Police Services announced in late April 2022 that they were searching for Mackall and Matthews in connection to the accidental shooting death of Summers; Mackall is Summers’ mother and Matthews is Mackall’s husband. The two turned themselves into the Larimer County Jail in Fort Collins a day later.

Summers accidentally shot himself in early April and was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital.