PONTIAC, MI -- Proper gun storage took center stage this week during the trial of James Crumbley, the 47-year-old father of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley.
A new Michigan gun storage law, inspired by the Nov. 30, 2021 school shooting and similar tragedies, took effect Feb. 13. It makes clear that gun owners are criminally liable if they fail to keep their guns locked away from children who might harm themselves or others. Punishment for violating the law is severe and carries up to a 15-year prison sentence.
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But that explicitly clear law wasn’t in place when James Crumbley’s son, then a 15-year-old sophomore, used a 9mm Sig Sauer handgun -- a weapon purchased for the teen by his father four days prior as an early Christmas gift -- to murder four classmates.
This makes murkier the job of the jury, who are being asked to find the father guilty of involuntary manslaughter, which carries the same possible 15-year punishment as violation of the new gun storage law.
James Crumbley, the father of a Michigan school shooter is escorted out of court during a break, Tuesday, March 12, 2024 in Pontiac, Mich. Prosecutors are focusing on the morning of the tragedy at Oxford High School in 2021 when four students were killed later that day. Crumbley is charged with involuntary manslaughter for failing to prevent the killings. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, Pool) APAP
It’s not illegal for children to use handguns while under the supervision of an adult for activities, such as hunting or target practice.
But “James Crumbley failed to secure that gun in a way to prevent his son from accessing it,” Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast said during opening statements last week.
On day three of the trial, ATF Special Agent Brett Brandon testified that, following the shooting, a gun case once containing the murder weapon was found open and empty on a bed shared by James Crumbley and his wife, Jennifer Crumbley.
Brandon said he was “shocked” to learn a youth gun safety pamphlet -- that the ATF requires dealers provide with guns they sell -- was buried behind the protective foam in the case with the sales receipt.
“Safely storing and securing firearms away from children will help prevent the unlawful possession of handguns by juveniles, stop accidents, and save lives,” the pamphlet warned.
Brandon testified police located a cable lock provided during the sale of the murder weapon in its original packaging -- a clear plastic bag -- inside an otherwise empty gun case for a different firearm in the kitchen. It didn’t appear the lock had ever been used, the agent said.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald takes the gun, described as the murder weapon, from Special Agent Brett Brandon during the James Crumbley trial, in the Oakland County Courtroom on Monday, March 11, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. He is accused of failing to secure a gun at home and ignoring signs of his son Ethan Crumbley's mental distress. (Daniel Mears/Detroit News via AP, Pool) APAP
Keast showed the jury a picture taken after the shooting depicting the cable lock still in its packaging with the keys inserted in the locking mechanism, as they were on the date of the sale.
“It was never used,” Keast said.
Jennifer Crumbley, 45, testified at her own trial that gun storage was her husband’s responsibility. She believed the gun case was stored and locked with the key hidden separately, although she didn’t know for sure.
Jennifer Crumbley said the gun was meant for target shooting at the range, a hobby James Crumbley and his son enjoyed together.
“He did not purchase that gun with the knowledge that his son may use it against other people,” James Crumbley’s attorney, Mariell R. Lehman, told the jury last week.
Jennifer Crumbley attended a shooting range with her son to practice with his new handgun the weekend prior to the school shooting, posting to social media with a picture of the gun: “Mom and son day testing out his new X-mas present.”
A jury convicted Jennifer Crumbley on four counts of involuntary manslaughter. She is awaiting sentencing.
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The Crumbley’s kept two other handguns in the home. The ATF agent testified they were kept in the parent’s bedroom inside a locked safe. None of the three handguns in the home were registered, as required by state law within 10 days of purchase.
Rick Ector, who owns and operates Rick’s Firearms Academy, a gun training school in Detroit, has followed Michigan’s new gun storage laws and the Crumbley prosecutions.
He opposed the new gun restrictions and penalties but said “every responsible adult should keep their firearm secured and away from unauthorized users.” Ector recommends his students use trigger locks or gun cases with cable cable locks to secure their firearms.
“And if the parents had locked it up, in theory, he wouldn’t have had access to it,” Ector said, “but I’m sure if he really wanted to get access to it, he would have.”
Day five of testimony in James Crumbley’s trial is expected to resume Wednesday.