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POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — A couple charged with the accidental shooting of a young girl in Chubbuck in eastern Idaho last year have pleaded not guilty.
KIDK-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1DEXNdq ) that Rusty Lish and his wife, Ashlee Lish, entered the plea Wednesday to charges of misdemeanor injury to a child in the death of 5-year-old Noelle Shawver.
The girl was shot by another 5-year-old while visiting the Lishes' home in July.
Police say the adults were in a different room when the shooting happened. They didn't say how the other child got access to the gun. Investigators have not released the type of gun involved.
"My take was gun was loaded and in a location where the young child could pick the gun up," said Bannock County Prosecutor Steve Herzog. "Leaving a loaded weapon where somebody — a child — could get a hold of it certainly creates unreasonable and foreseeable risks to children."
Police say emergency workers responded that afternoon and took Noelle to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello. The hospital confirmed later in the evening she had died.
The Lishes' attorney did not comment on Wednesday.
Misdemeanor injury to a child has a maximum penalty of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
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Information from: KIDK-TV, http://www.kidk.com/
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