Larry Sanders

Larry Sanders, 47, is jailed on $100,000 bond on felony charges. Police say Sanders left his loaded gun where the 6-year-old son of his fiancee found it and shot himself.

(Adam Ferrise, NEOMG)

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — A man is jailed on $100,000 bond on Monday after police say his future 6-year-old stepson found his loaded revolver and shot himself in the head.

Larry Sanders, 47, faces charges of second-degree felony assault, third-degree felony child endangering and possessing a gun despite being felon, also a third-degree felony. Sanders entered no plea Monday at his initial appearance in East Cleveland Municipal Court.

Det. Sgt. James Ruth said during the hearing the boy, 6-year-old Yuseff Yahfear, remains in critical condition at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital.

East Cleveland Municipal Court Judge William Dawson said during the hearing the charges carry a maximum of 18 years in prison. Sanders waived his preliminary hearing, so the case will be reviewed by a Cuyahoga County grand jury that will decide how the case proceeds.

Police said Yahfear about 6:40 p.m. Sunday found the gun inside the family's home in the 4500 block of Orinoco Avenue.

Police Chief Michael Cardilli, who attended the hearing, said Yahfear found Sanders’ loaded .38-caliber gun inside Sanders’ jacket in a closet. The boy walked into the closet, found the gun and shot himself in the forehead, Cardilli said.

Doctors performed surgery on Yahfear early Monday and police said the boy remained unconscious but responsive to stimuli.

Ruth said Sanders and Yahfear’s mother are engaged and that they live in the same home.

Neighborhood residents said on Monday the Yahfear was a typical 6-year-old boy who they watched ride his bike up and down the road and play on the family’s porch.

One resident, Cheryl Johnson, described the boy as “sweet.”

“I’m shocked,” Johnson said. “I understand people have guns to protect themselves, but don’t they come with safety (features)? It’s a tragic thing that happened. My heart goes out to him and his family.”

Ruth said during the court hearing Sanders has been arrested nine other times. A search of court records shows Sanders spent time in prison on two different cases.

Sanders was sentenced in 1988 to six months in a work house after pleading guilty to receiving stolen property.

He was sentenced to one year in prison in 1992 on a drug conviction and another year in 2003 for a robbery in Brooklyn, according to court records.