Macon man pleads guilty in 17-month-old boy's shooting death

A Macon man pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Wednesday for the shooting death of his girlfriend's 17-month-old son last spring.

Ronnie William Howard, 37, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the maximum penalty for the charge.

Howard had been charged with murder in the boy's death, but authorities said evidence in the case showed that he hadn't intended to kill the child.

Howard initially told investigators he was cleaning the gun when it jammed and fired by accident, striking the boy, Victor Carroll, who died almost instantly at their Thomaston Road mobile home.

At Howard's plea hearing Wednesday, prosecutors said he was careless with the pistol, which he wasn't supposed to have.

They asked that Howard -- a habitual violator under a judge's order not to have a gun at the time of the April 30, 2015, shooting -- be sentenced to the maximum.

The boy's grandfather and namesake, Victor Mark Carroll, stood before Judge Howard Simms and choked back tears, asking Simms to send Howard to prison as long as he could.

"All we can do is go out there and stand over (the boy's) little grave," the grandfather said.

When her turn to speak came, the boy's mother, Danielle Carroll, mentioned her ex-boyfriend and told the judge, "Whatever you give him, he's getting off easy because my son's never coming back."

Howard, a mechanic who was said to have been a drug user, apologized and sobbed as he stood before the judge.

"I wish it would have been me instead of him," Howard said. "He was a great little boy."

As he sentenced Howard to the maximum, Simms said, "You were told by a judge not to have a gun. That changes everything about this case. Everything. ... That takes it from a tragic mistake to a criminal mistake."

Bibb County District Attorney David Cooke said in a statement that "every adult has a duty to make sure that the children under his roof are safe. ... Mr. Howard not only failed in that duty, his actions were so careless that the pain and loss he inflicted will last for years."

To contact writer Joe Kovac Jr., call 744-4397.

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Macon man pleads guilty in 17-month-old boy's shooting death ."