Apr. 22—WABASHA, Minn. — The mother of the 6-year-old boy who was shot in his abdomen in June 2024 received a stay of imposition.
Nicole McGee, 34, was charged with a felony count of endangerment of a child by firearm access, two counts of gross misdemeanor endangerment of a child by firearm access and a gross misdemeanor charge of negligent storage of a firearm.
During the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, April 22, District Judge Christopher Neisen accepted McGee’s guilty plea and sentenced her to five years of probation after ordering a stay of imposition, which occurs when the court does not pronounce a prison sentence. If McGee remains law-abiding while on probation, the court will lessen the charges.
McGee and Raymond Duque, the father of the boy, were each charged with a felony count of endangerment of a child by firearm access, two counts of gross misdemeanor endangerment of a child by firearm access and a gross misdemeanor charge of negligent storage of a firearm. Duque was also being charged with possession of a firearm after being convicted for third-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2010.
On March 25, Duque was sentenced to 30 months in custody and 15 months on supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of child endangerment. Duque agreed to an upward aggravated sentence.
Duque said the family was spending the night at his sister’s home in Elgin, according to the criminal complaint. He was inside eating when he heard a loud pop, but he thought his children were at the park.
According to the complaint, video from a security camera covering the area where a van was parked showed the van arriving and Duque and McGee exiting from the driver’s and passenger’s seats, respectively. It then showed them returning to the van and leaving it unlocked. Thirty minutes after the van arrived, a 9-year-old girl and an 8-year-old entered the van. The 6-year-old boy followed them in. Less than one minute after the boy entered the vehicle, the 9-year-old and 8-year-old ran toward the house.
The complaint said the girl came in and said something was wrong with the 6-year-old. McGee went to the van and found the boy with a gunshot wound in the front seat of the van.
Duque told police it was a 12-gauge shotgun that was between the driver’s seat and the center console. He claimed the gun was not his and that it had been put in his vehicle by a friend who was not identified. He said the gun was placed between the driver’s seat and the center console and claimed he did not load the gun, but said it was loaded when it was given to him.
McGee told police the 9-year-old said the three kids were playing with the gun in the van. McGee claimed the gun was Duque’s and confirmed the location of the gun was between the driver’s seat and center console.
“(McGee) couldn’t remember when the gun was put in the car,” the criminal complaint said. “When asked if it was always there, she said ‘sometimes, yeah.’ When asked if the kids knew the gun was in the vehicle she replied, ‘I’m sure, I’m sure they know.’ When asked if it was (Duque’s) gun she said yes.”
The 6-year-old had a gunshot wound to his right hip and a barrel burn to the left forearm.