UPDATE: Chauntez Cage pleaded guilty to felony reckless conduct on Feb. 15, 2018. He was sentenced to 30 months probation and was required to pay restitution.

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS • A Belleville man was charged last week in connection with shooting a 3-year-old girl in the head with a BB gun.

Chauntez Cage, 20, of the 500 block of South Jackson Street, was charged Aug. 3 with felony reckless conduct.

Fairview Heights police allege Cage was watching the toddler and her three siblings in mid-July when he intentionally pointed the BB gun at the child and pulled the trigger, not knowing there was a BB in the chamber.

The BB became lodged in the toddler's forehead and will require surgery to remove, according to police.

Cage's bail was set at $10,000. He was still listed as an inmate in the St. Clair County Jail Monday afternoon.

Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editor, Mandy St. Amand. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.