A Sioux Falls man who pleaded guilty to child abuse in connection to the October 2019 accidental fatal shooting of his unborn child was sentenced to probation this week.

Sheldon Robert Pettibone was sentenced on Monday by Judge Camela Theeler to supervised probation for two years, with a five-year suspended penitentiary sentence should he violate the terms of that probation.

Probation conditions include no consumption of non-prescribed drugs and the requirements to complete a gun safety class and any treatment recommended by a court services officer.

According to court documents and former court proceedings, on Oct. 13, 2019, Pettibone was cleaning his gun while he and his wife were watching a football game when the gun discharged and struck his wife, who was about four months pregnant.

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The unborn child was delivered via cesarean section and was deceased, according to court documents. An autopsy described in court documents listed the cause of death as "gunshot wound of maternal uterus" and the manner of death as homicide. One gunshot entry wound was found in his wife's thigh.

Pettibone, 22, was initially charged with simple assault and reckless discharge of a firearm, and later with second-degree manslaughter.

In February, the state filed an amended complaint charging Pettibone with abuse or cruelty to a minor under 7, dismissing the initial charge of second-degree manslaughter, as part of a plea agreement. The plea agreement called for all prison or jail time to be suspended, with a cap of 10 years of that suspended time.

He had been out of custody on bond.

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In a separate incident, Pettibone was arrested on Jan. 6, 2019, after authorities say he shot at people he claimed stole his phone. He was arrested and charged with reckless discharge of a firearm and discharging a weapon within city limits, police said at the time. Pettibone pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was given a 30-day suspended jail sentence.

Email reporter Danielle Ferguson at dbferguson@argusleader.com, or follow on Twitter at @DaniFergs.