Parents of Suspected School Shooter May Face Serious Sentences, Expert Says

• Parents of suspected school shooter may face serious sentences, expert says

• The Crumbley parents were apprehended early Saturday morning by police officers after failing to appear for their arraignment Friday.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that according to a former Assistant United States Attorney, the allegations lodged against Ethan Crumbley’s parents are “certainly warranted,” and each may face 10-15 years in jail if convicted.

Former U.S. Attorney Neama Rahmani noted that while charging the parents of a suspect in a school shooting is “extremely uncommon,” the prosecution has a good case.

“What’s more dangerous than buying a gun for your kid and knowing that, you know, he’s making, you know, drawing these violent pictures and school officials are concerned and doing nothing about it. In my book, that’s certainly creating a situation where the risk of death was very high,” Rahmani said.

After Ethan Crumbley, their son, was accused of killing four classmates at Oxford High School earlier this week during a school shooting, James and Jennifer Crumbley both pled not guilty to four charges of involuntary manslaughter.

According to Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, James Crumbley purchased the handgun recovered at the site of the incident on Black Friday at a nearby weapons store.

During a news conference on Friday, McDonald stated that the Sig Sauer 9mm pistol purchased by James Crumbley was kept in an unsecured drawer in his parents’ bedroom.

However, James and Jennifer Crumbley’s attorneys, Mariell Lehman and Shannon Smith, denied that the pistol was in an unlocked drawer.

The Crumbley parents were apprehended early Saturday morning by police officers after failing to appear for their arraignment Friday.

According to Michael McCabe, undersheriff for the Oakland County Sheriff’s Agency, the office communicated with Crumbley’s attorney on Friday at 4 p.m. to set up a location for the pair to turn themselves in, but had not received a response as of 6 p.m. that day.

Based on what he has observed thus far, Rahmani believes the Crumbley parents will be convicted and face a 10-15 year concurrent term in jail.

The former U.S. Attorney also said that if the Crumbleys were running from law enforcement on Friday night, it could strengthen the prosecution’s case against them: “Whenever a criminal defendant flees, prosecutors can introduce that flight and argue to the jurors that that shows a guilty mind or consciousness of guilt. So it’s helpful evidence for the manslaughter charges as well.”

However, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley believes there will be “ample challenges” to the involuntary manslaughter charges.

“There are ample challenges that can be made to the involuntary manslaughter charges. Absent some new evidence that the police were relying upon, as a general matter, parents are not criminally liable for the actions of their children in these types of cases,” Turley said.

Turley also said while he’s not surprised to see charges brought against the shooter at a fast pace, the charges brought against the parents are a different story.

“I mean, it’s not surprising to see the charges against the shooter. The evidence there is abundantly clear. But the charges against the parents would require a considerable level of detail as to their knowledge and actions leading up to this shooting,” Turley said.

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