Lansing man pleads guilty to accidentally shooting child

LANSING – A Lansing man said he made a mistake the night he accidentally shot a 2-year-old girl in April with a gun he wasn't supposed to be carrying.

Jaylen Briggs, 21, pleaded guilty today to possession of a weapon by a felon, felony firearm and careless discharge of a firearm causing injury or death as part of a plea agreement with the Ingram County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

The latter charge is a high court misdemeanor, meaning it is punishable by up to two years in prison. The others are felonies.

"I wasn't in my right mind," Briggs said during the plea hearing when Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina asked him why he had the gun. "... I made a bad choice."

Aquilina said what he did went beyond simply a bad choice.

Briggs accidentally shot the girl around 8:45 p.m. on April 17 in the 5600 block of S. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Police said Briggs, who fled the scene, was known to the family and the shooting is believed to have been accidental.

The girl was initially listed in critical condition but a few days later was upgraded to stable and improving.

During the plea hearing Briggs said he had heard the girl was doing "well."

He faces up to seven years in prison. The felony firearm charge carries a two-year mandatory sentence that must be served before the sentences for the other charges.

As part of the plea agreement a fourth charge — carrying a concealed weapon — was dropped.

Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.

What's next

Jaylen Briggs, 31, pleaded guilty today to possession of a weapon by a felon, felony firearm and careless discharge of a firearm causing injury or death. He will be sentenced on July 15 by Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina.

Correction: Jaylen Briggs' age was incorrect in an earlier version of this article.