A 44-year-old father from Georgia is heading to prison after leaving his two young children alone in a car with an unsecured handgun. Tragically, this led to the accidental shooting and death of his 7-year-old son. On Thursday, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson sentenced Dante Lamar Daugherty to two years in a state prison for the death of young Z’ayre Daugherty earlier in 2023, as officials reported.

The sentencing came after Daugherty admitted guilt to one charge of second-degree murder and two charges of second-degree cruelty to children in an open plea deal, according to District Attorney Sherry Boston. Alongside his prison term, Daugherty must also complete eight years of probation.

Prosecutors stated that they were seeking a sentence of five years in custody, followed by five years of probation.

Previously, as covered by Law&Crime, officers from the DeKalb County Police Department were dispatched around 6:10 p.m. on a Monday to a Texaco gas station on Rock Chapel Road in Lithonia, approximately 20 miles from Atlanta, following reports of a child being shot.

When officers arrived, they found Daugherty sitting in the back of an SUV, holding his son who had sustained a gunshot wound to the head. Unfortunately, when emergency medical teams arrived shortly after, they declared Z’ayre deceased at the scene.

The police discovered Daugherty’s firearm and a spent shell casing inside the vehicle. Daugherty, along with his 5-year-old son who was present during the incident, were taken to the DeKalb Police Headquarters, where Daugherty agreed to an interview.

During the questioning, Daugherty explained that upon reaching the gas station, he initially exited the car with his sons but asked them to return to the vehicle when he noticed Z’ayre didn’t have a sock or shoe.

“Daugherty took his gun off of his waist band, wrapped it in a cloth, and placed it under the driver’s seat before heading into the gas station,” prosecutors wrote in the release. “While inside, Defendant Daugherty noticed one of the rear doors open on the SUV and returned to find that Z’ayre had been shot. He was unsure if Z’ayre had shot himself or had been shot by his brother. The brother was unable to tell investigators what exactly had happened.”

Surveillance footage from the gas station appeared to confirm Daugherty’s story, showing both kids entering the back seat of the car before “a flash of gunfire” could be seen.

The clerk who was working the counter when Daugherty came in spoke to Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB, telling the station that Daugherty was a “regular” customer who had stopped in to play the lottery before the incident. While Daugherty is inside the store, the footage shows the 5-year-old child throwing open the passenger-side back door in a panic and running from the car in the direction of a busy intersection.

Records show that Daugherty, in 2015, pleaded guilty to charges of battery against a family member and disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to 24 months of probation. In 2007, he pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of loitering for drugs and was given six months’ probation.