Jeffrey Pitt enters not guilty plea, accused in death of his 3-year-old son
Jeffrey Pitt
RACINE -- A 30-year-old Racine man charged in connection with the death of his three-year-old son Jere'Miah entered a not guilty plea to charges on Wednesday, August 23rd.
Jeffrey Pitt Jr. faces the following criminal counts:
Prosecutors say he was drunk, and fell asleep with a gun in his waistband. When he woke up, his son was dead.
According to the criminal complaint which was filed on Wednesday, July 19th, police were called to a home on Howe St. in Racine on July 12th for a report of a deceased child. Officers found the three-year-old child "lying on the floor with a single gunshot wound through the chest." A .40 caliber spent casing was located next to the child.
Jere'Miah Pitt
When investigators interviewed Pitt, he "stated he consumed approximately five shots worth of alcohol on July 11th before returning home at approximately 7:00 p.m." He initially denied owning or possessing any firearms and denied any firearms were present in the home. Pitt indicated "he woke at approximately 6:00 a.m. and observed Jere'Miah farther away than he should have been. Pitt stated when he went to check on Jere'Miah, the child's body was cold and stiff."
Some five hours later, while at the police department, Pitt "admitted that he had a .40 caliber firearm in the home." He told officers "he was holding the firearm for another person and no one else knew it was in the house." Pitt said "he had loaded the .40 handgun with a round in the chamber tucked in his waistband when he went to sleep."
The complaint said Pitt "stated he did not wake to anything during the night, did not hear any sounds, and did not feel anyone remove a firearm from his waistband." Pitt said when he woke in the morning, the child "was lying on the floor near the door to a bedroom."
Pitt was bound over for trial on Wednesday. He is scheduled to be back in court on September 22nd.