Watch a previous report on the shooting in the video player above.
MARYSVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) – Two people have been sentenced for an April incident that resulted in a 4-year-old being shot in the leg at a Marysville hotel.
According to the Office of the Union County Prosecuting Attorney, Lisa Siders Seaunier, 43, and Joesph Seaunier, 46, will both serve time for the April 7 incident at the Super 8 Motel in the 16000 block of Square Drive in Marysville.
Lisa Siders Seaunier was sentenced to 180 days in jail, a $1,000 fine and three years of community control, while Joseph Seaunier, a convicted felon, was given 18 months in prison.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the couple was in a room at the hotel when they claimed Lisa Siders Seaunier was holding the gun and tripped while pointing the gun at the wall. The gun fired, with the bullet traveling through the wall into an adjoining room, hitting the child in the leg.
Lisa Siders Seaunier told police that the gun fell when she tripped. However, the prosecutor’s office said that because of the location and path the bullet took through the wall, that story was unlikely.
In the end, prosecutors said, investigators couldn’t find enough evidence to prove anything except a “reckless discharge of a gun.”
Lisa Siders Seaunier was convicted of recklessly causing serious physical harm, a first-degree misdemeanor. Joseph Seaunier was convicted of having weapons under disability, a third-degree felony.
As a convicted felon, Joseph Seaunier is prohibited from possessing a firearm under Ohio law. The prosecutor’s office said that even though both Lisa Siders Seaunier and Joseph Seaunier claimed that she was the owner of the gun, Ohio law has a “constructive possession” clause. Constructive possession is when a defendant knowingly has the power and control over the gun, either directly or through others, the prosecutor’s office said. Joseph Seaunier allegedly admitted he knew this to investigators.
The child, who was in bed with his siblings at the time of the shooting, was treated at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
