Beech Grove father pleads guilty to neglect after son seen waving gun on live TV
A Beech Grove father, arrested after a video broadcast on live TV showed his young son waving a handgun, pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent Tuesday morning.
Shane Osborne’s arrest was shown on the Reelz series “On Patrol: Live,” during the TV show’s live broadcast in January 2023.
As part of the agreement, 46-year-old Osborne's second count of neglect of a dependent was dismissed. Prosecutors asked for one year of Osborne's sentence to be served behind bars, but on Tuesday, the court ordered him to 692 days on probation, which amounts to just shy of two years.
Beech Grove police officers were first alerted to the situation on Jan. 14, 2023, by a neighbor who reported the boy had a handgun and was pointing it at people, according to the probable cause affidavit for Osborne’s arrest.
Previous coverage: Bond set for Beech Grove father jailed after 4-year-old waves gun during 'On Patrol: Live'
The boy was 4 years old at that time, police stated.
Officers were approached by another neighbor, who alerted them to surveillance video of the child with the gun.
The surveillance video was broadcast on the show and captured the boy walking around the hallway of the apartment complex waiving the gun above his head. At one point in the video, the child points the gun toward his face.
An officer asked the child where he put the gun and the boy assisted law enforcement in locating it, the affidavit states.
The broadcast showed officers securing and taking custody of the firearm before arresting Osborne. The man told officers the firearm belonged to his cousin, according to the affidavit.
From last year: Beech Grove PD 'taking a break' from TV show, On Patrol: Live
Osborne also stated he did not know the weapon was in the apartment or that his child knew where it was. The man stated that both he and the child’s mother were ill that day, and he thought the child was watching TV and playing, the affidavit reads.
After it was broadcast on TV, the man’s arrest was reported by CNN, The Washington Post and other media outlets across the country. The arrest also caught the attention of Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears and Mitch Gore, a state representative whose district included Beech Grove.
The firearm and any ammunition seized during the police investigation was ordered to be destroyed as part of the plea, according to the prosecutor's office.
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Beech Grove father pleads guilty after son seen waving gun on TV
