Genesee prosecutor: Flint dad 1st person charged with violating state's new gun storage law

A Flint man is believed to be the first person in Michigan charged with violating the state's new firearms safe storage law after his 2-year-old daughter was shot in the head on Valentine's Day — the day after the new law took effect.

That's according to Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton and state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, who introduced the legislation.

"I have to say that when we introduced this legislation, when I introduced this legislation, it was my hope that it would never be used," McDonald Rivet said during a news conference Tuesday, video of which the Free Press reviewed.

"Right now in the United States, we average one unintentional shooting of a child every day," the lawmaker said. "Now that we have this in place, it was our goal to be able to give prosecutors tools, because with these rights comes an extraordinary responsibility. And when you don't honor that responsibility, there need to be criminal penalties. I did not ever dream that within days of the law going into effect we would need it. But here we are."

Toddler shot herself in the face with unsecured gun

At the news conference, Leyton announced that Michael Tolbert, 44, is facing nine charges, including first-degree child abuse; lying to a police officer about a violent crime investigation as well as firearms-safe storage violations, in addition to numerous felony firearm offenses.

A media advisory ahead of the news conference stated the girl accidentally shot herself in the face with the man's loaded handgun.

Tolbert is being held in the Genesee County Jail on a $250,000 bond, according to the county sheriff's office. A probable cause conference is set for Feb. 29 in 67th District Court in Flint.

"The most that we can say is that we'll be in a position to represent him," Genesee County Chief Public Defender Nathaniel Perry told the Free Press on Wednesday.

Perry said an attorney will be assigned to Tolbert's case as early as Thursday. Perry said: "I think, of this particular statute, this is the very first one that's been used in this situation in Genesee County."

At the news conference, Leyton said Flint police officers were sent to Hurley Medical Center in Flint on Feb. 14 regarding a shooting victim who was brought to the hospital in a personal vehicle. They learned 28-month-old Skye McBride had a gunshot wound to her head, he said.

Loaded guns found on bed

Police spoke with Tolbert, her father, who took her to the hospital, Leyton said.

Leyton said a search warrant was executed at a home in Flint, where blood was found on the living room floor and couch, with blood appearing to come from the front bedroom. In the bedroom, he said, investigators saw blood and brain matter on the floor, with blood next to a small, toddler-sized folding chair.

Leyton said two firearms, a revolver and a semiautomatic pistol, were on the bed; both unsecured and loaded with live ammunition. He said the pistol had a live round in the chamber and multiple live rounds in the magazine; the revolver had one fired casing and additional live ammunition inside of it.

"There were no gun locks or safes inside of this front bedroom," he said during the news conference. "Upon examining the ceiling of the front bedroom, investigators observed a single bullet hole in the drywall ceiling."

Leyton said per medical center staff, the bullet entered Skye's right eye and exited through the rear of her skull.

"The doctors have said she will lose her right eye, at best, and she remains in critical condition this afternoon," Leyton said Tuesday.

'Our world has been thrown into a whirlwind'

A GoFundMe account was created for Skye's family by her aunt, LaDorothy Griggs. The post with the account states the "tragic event occurred due to an unsecured firearm" while Skye was in her father's custody.

"Skye is a ball of energy, a joy to be around and the star of our lives. She is the most happy, funny, beautiful, loving, and sweetest 3-year-old you would ever meet! Known for making everyone laugh nonstop and keeping everyone on their toes with all the funny things she says and silly things she does," according to the post on the fundraising account, which was created two days ago and had raised $3,792 as of Wednesday afternoon.

The post stated Skye loves the color pink, Minnie Mouse, and Paw Patrol and is looking forward to starting preschool.

Her condition was "very critical," it stated, but she "is fighting so very hard for her life. She is her mom's only child and as you can imagine the family is struggling to process this as our world has been thrown into a whirlwind."

"Life is going to be extremely different for Skye. The trauma she has endured and WILL survive is unimaginable. We are hoping to lean on our community through this difficult time," according to the post.

The Free Press sent a message Wednesday to Griggs via the GoFundMe page but had not received a reply.

Leyton said the child abuse charge is a life felony.

"In order to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, we have to prove, as prosecutors, that the defendant did knowingly or intentionally cause the serious physical harm to the child. And proving something happened knowingly and intentionally is a steep hill for a prosecutor in 2024," Leyton said.

"Thanks to this law, this is what we have to prove as to Mr. Tolbert's conduct. That he did store or leave a firearm unattended on premises under his or her control, when he knew or reasonably should have known that a minor was or was likely to be present on the premises and did fail to store the firearm in a locked box or container and/or keep the firearm unloaded and lock the firearm with a locking device that is properly engaged to render the firearm inoperable by any individual other than the owner or an authorized user. And that as a result, a minor obtained the firearm, discharged it and inflicted serious impairment of a body function upon the minor. That is a much more straightforward situation than the child abuse charge."

McDonald Rivet said she introduced the bill to "start stemming the tide of what gun violence is doing to our kids."

"I didn't expect it to happen so fast, but sadly, it did," Leyton said of charges under the new law.

Michigan State Police representatives at the news conference said incidents like this are preventable and noted that free gun locks are available at state police posts.

State Police Capt. Greg Morenko said gun owners are responsible for the use and storage of their firearms and "it only takes a moment" for an incident to happen.

If the girl dies, Leyton said his office probably would add a count of involuntary manslaughter to the charges.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Prosecutor: Flint dad 1st person charged with violating state's gun storage law