FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – The father of a 22-year-old man accused of manslaughter following the accidental shooting death of an 18-month-old girl in Palm Coast last year has been arrested and accused of tampering with evidence
MORE: Uncle of 18-month-old girl accidentally shot in Palm Coast accused of manslaughter
C.J. Nelson Jr. faces manslaughter charges following the death of his niece Ja’liyah Allen in September.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said the girl was playing with her mother in a hallway of the home, waiting to take a shower, when Nelson was in a bedroom. Investigators said Nelson was handling a “multi-caliber assault pistol” when it accidentally went off and a bullet went through the wall and struck his niece in the head.
Staly said during a news conference on Monday that following the shooting, Nelson’s father, C.J. Nelson Sr., was called to the home.
Staly said Nelson Sr. then “provided instructions on how to stage the scene,” which included wiping fingerprints off the gun, instructing his son to take a shower and telling witnesses to provide an alibi for him and his son by saying they were both outside smoking at the time of the incident.
“During the investigation, it became apparent the crime scene had been tampered with and evidence was likely disposed of and cleaned up,” Staly said. “It was also obvious that based on the evidence and scene that persons that were in the house when the shooting occurred, were not being truthful to investigators.”
Nelson Sr. has been accused of two counts of tampering with evidence and providing false information to law enforcement.
Staly said he was arrested while he was putting money in his son’s account at the county jail and later posted bond.
Staly said the Sheriff’s Office is working with the State Attorney’s Office to have a higher bond or a bond revocation because he believes Nelson Sr. is a “threat to witnesses and to members of the Sheriff’s Office.”
“This case is a prime example that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree,” Staly said. “He certainly will never be father of the year, in fact, he won’t be the father of the day. So I’m glad and commend our detectives for arresting him. I hope he and his son enjoy prison.”
