Boy Expected to Survive Shotgun Blast : Ventura: Child was shot by accident by his stepbrother. Police will decide if criminal charges should be brought against mother and stepfather.

By KAY SAILLANT

June 17, 1994 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

A 3-year-old Ventura boy is expected to survive a shotgun wound accidentally inflicted by his stepbrother, hospital officials said Thursday, as police continued a criminal investigation into the responsibility of the parents.

David Cook was wounded when 6-year-old Kevin Cook loaded a shotgun he found in the family’s motel room Wednesday and fired it, police said. David was in critical condition Thursday at Ventura County Medical Center but is expected to recover, a nursing supervisor said.

A 1991 law makes it illegal to store firearms where they are accessible to children, said Detective Gary McCaskill of the Ventura Police Department. Police will decide in the next few days whether criminal charges should be brought against David’s mother and stepfather under that statute, McCaskill said.

But the injured boy’s stepfather, Joe Richey, said Thursday the weapon didn’t belong to him. Instead, he said, the gun belonged to Kelly Flowers, a man who Richey says he befriended a few weeks ago and invited to live with his family.

“I told him to get rid of it four or five days ago,” said a shaken Richey, speaking from a tiny kitchen in the family’s shabby two-room residence at the Silver Sands Motel on Main Street in Ventura.

Richey, 31, was not home when David was shot and didn’t learn of the accident until late Wednesday he said. When he found out, Richey said, he “went looking” for Flowers.

He has been unable to locate Flowers, but said the man is no longer welcome in his home.

Richey said he learned about a week ago that Flowers had brought the shotgun into the house and stashed it behind the television. The shotgun had three or four cartridges taped to the side, he said.

“That’s the guy they ought to charge,” he said.

But McCaskill said the law allows charges to be brought against whomever has control of the firearm. Police have not yet determined a number of factors, including where the shotgun was stored and to whom it is registered.

If there is evidence showing that David’s guardians kept the weapon where it could easily be obtained by children, police may recommend that the district attorney’s office file charges, McCaskill said.

It would be the first time such charges have been brought in Ventura, he said.

“This is a tragedy because it could have been avoided,” McCaskill said. “Guns need to be completely secured in a locked cabinet where children do not have access to keys.”

Police said the incident occurred about 5 p.m. Wednesday as the children’s mother lay sleeping in the same room where they were playing. Keith found the shotgun and pulled the trigger, hitting David at close range in the back.

Sharon Richey said Thursday she awoke to the blast and her children’s screams. At first, she said, she thought Keith was the only one injured because his mouth was bleeding, cut by the gun’s recoil. She was helping him to the kitchen when she realized that David lay crumpled and bleeding on a heap of clothing in the corner.

He was crying, but she couldn’t hear him over the hysterical shouts of her four other children. Besides Keith and David, Sharon Richey is mother to Denenie Cook, 9; Shari Cook, 5; and Summer Richey, 11 months.

Joe Richey is the father of Keith, Shari and Summer, said the couple, who recently married.

Details about what took place in the room were unclear on Thursday.

Joe Richey claims that Flowers and another family friend, Patty Fairweather, were supposed to be baby-sitting while Sharon Richey slept. Instead, both were inside an adjoining kitchen with the door closed, he said.

But Fairweather said she was out shopping when the shooting occurred. And Flowers could not be reached for comment Thursday.

McCaskill said investigators have not yet determined whether the children were unattended at the time of the shooting.

The children, however, seemed healthy, well-fed and clothed, said a neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous. The boys often rode a noisy plastic golf cart around the asphalt parking lot and played with make-believe swords, the neighbor said.

“The kids were regular kids,” the neighbor said. “They were energetic, that’s for sure.”

All of the couple’s children were taken into protective custody following the shooting. David will also be placed into protective custody, once he is released from the hospital, McCaskill said.

A hearing will be held Monday to determine whether the Richeys can reclaim their children, Joe said.

“I want my kids back,” he said, his eyes welling up. “I’m a good parent.”