DEARBORN, Mich. – A Dearborn man learned his sentence Friday for a gun accident that injured two small children at an unlicensed daycare ran inside his home.
Timothy Eubanks pleaded guilty to child abuse and got a sentence that does not include jail time.
There were plenty of emotions and tears to go around inside the courtroom. Two mothers faced Eubanks, the man they claim is responsible for the shooting of their children.
“He remembers everything that happened, your honor," Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth said her little boy remembers Sept. 27, 2017, like it happened yesterday.
Police said Eubanks’ 3-year-old son found a weapon inside their home on Harding Street. It was an unlicensed daycare. Two children were shot.
“It was a through and through. His clavicle was fractured,” Elizabeth said.
“My son was shot in the face. The bullet went through the front of his head and came in the back of his ear. Due to the accident, my son lost his right eye and his jaw was completely fractured. He was in a coma for a couple of weeks,” said Crystal, the mother of one of the victims.
The prosecuting attorney asked the judge for jail time, saying that Eubanks is to blame for the shooting.
Before Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway announced the sentence, Eubanks addressed the court.
“I want to say that I’m truly sorry and the guilt I have won’t ever go away. So many bad things happened that day, due to the rushing and my poor judgement. Nobody will ever know how truly sorry I am,” he said.
Hathaway said she didn’t want to send Eubanks to prison, but gave him two years of probation with a certain requirement.
“I want you to develop a campaign where you reach out to millions of people and let them know what your carelessness caused," she said.
Eubanks will be ordered back to court on Feb. 20, 2020, for a probation review. Hathaway said they will discuss his progress and what he has done the past year to inform the public about gun safety.