A Hammond father avoided prison Friday after his toddler daughter picked up a loaded gun and accidentally shot herself in the foot last year.
Kendall Wilson, 27, pleaded guilty in February to neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony. He was sentenced to two years’ probation.
His defense lawyer Bob Varga argued in court that his client made a serious mistake – shoving a loaded gun under a mattress as he was trying to get the kids together and leave the home.
His daughter, then 3, hopped off the bed and saw the gun, which fell out. Everyone was home at the time.
His client was “beside himself” by the time police came. Thankfully, the child was “fine” now, in gymnastics and cheerleading.
Deputy Prosecutor Keith Anderson noted they were more fortunate than in other cases, since the child survived.
It was “about the best outcome Mr. Wilson can hope for,” he said.
He asked for a term in Lake County Community Corrections.
Wilson told the court he didn’t know why he didn’t secure the gun.
It was the “worst thing that happened to me,” he said.
Judge Salvador Vasquez said it was a “horrible accident,” noting one case where a child found a gun and accidentally killed their sibling. In cases like that, the parent went “to prison.”
Last year, he sentenced Kyle Penro, then 29, of Merrillville, to prison after his son picked up a loaded gun he tossed on the bed after work. The boy fatally shot himself in the chest. He has since been released, online prison records show.
In Wilson’s case, Hammond Police responded Feb. 11, 2025, just before noon, to the 1100 block of Logan Street.
Wilson had his arms wrapped around the girl, waiting for the paramedics.
The girl’s mother said she was on the phone with a relative when she stopped watching the toddler for “a few seconds,” assuming she went into the living room. The girl must have been crouched down and gotten the gun.
She heard a “loud pop” she knew was a gunshot. The child was bleeding from her foot. The 6-month-old sibling was also in the house.
Cops found another gun in a headrest behind their sofa, the affidavit said.
Post-Tribune archives contributed; mcolias@post-trib.com.
