A man pleaded guilty this week to charges related to the accidental fatal shooting of a 14-year-old last year.
Albert J. Sutton, 27, pleaded guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter and reckless handling of a firearm, according to the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 25.
The shooting happened on the afternoon of Sept. 3, 2023, at a house on Wyngate Drive, near the intersection of Virginia Beach Boulevard and Military Highway.
Sutton was watching about a dozen children that ranged in age from toddlers to teens while the children’s parents ran errands, according to a release from the prosecutor’s office.
Sutton had a gun with him and was showing it to a group of kids in an upstairs bedroom when he accidentally pulled the trigger, the release said. Amir Anthony Burnett, 14, was shot in the chest and later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Sutton fled afterwards, leaving the children unsupervised and having to call 911 and try to help Amir, the release said.
Sutton was arrested later that day. He initially tried to blame one of the children for shooting the gun, but eventually confessed to mistakenly firing it while attempting to put it back in his waistband. He has remained jailed without bond since his arrest.
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