Two days after the death of five-year-old Christian Johnnson, who died after finding a loaded handgun in a bedroom nightstand, and accidentally shooting himself in the head, the father of the child is facing federal weapons charges for being a felon in possession of a firearm, it was announced.

The father of the child, Anthony Johnnson, following an investigation at the scene on the 5700-block of Rocky Mountain Court, was found to to have been convicted in 2012 on felony possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute, and as a felon could not lawfully possess a firearm.

According to the criminal complaint filed by an ATF agent, Johnnson was interviewed after being informed of his Miranda Rights, which he waived, and admitted to purchasing a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson semiautomatic and ammo approximately five months  ago for his fiance from a person in Palmer. He admitted to investigators that he had handled and loaded the firearm and showed his fiancee how to use it.

In addition, Johnnson also admitted to investigators that he had gotten an AR-15 magazine from an acquaintance and was holding it for him and also told of several rifles that Johnnson agreed to hold for that acquaintance.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]While Johnnson does not have a bail hearing until December 11th, he has been released, but required to stay at home and wear an ankle monitor so that he and his family can plan for the child’s funeral and burial. His fiance is his court-approved third party custodian.

If Johnnson is convicted on the federal charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison with three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

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