NEWAYGO, Mich. — A Newaygo County man prosecuted under Michigan's new safe storage law is headed to prison after he was sentenced Monday afternoon.
Karl Robart was sentenced to a minimum of 38-months to a maximum of 15 years in prison in front of Judge Robert Springstead.
Braxton Marvin Scott Dykstra, 5, was visiting his grandparents' home in Garfield Township back in April when he and a 6-year-old relative found a gun in one of the bedrooms. While the 6-year-old boy was holding the gun, it fired and hit Braxton, killing him.
Both Karl Robart and his wife Theresa Robart were charged in connection to Braxton's death under Michigan's new safe storage law and accused of leaving firearms in their bedroom.
The law requires gun owners to keep unattended weapons unloaded and locked in a box or container if it is reasonably known that a minor is likely to be present on the premises.
Karl Robart pleaded no contest earlier this year and plans to testify that his wife, Theresa Robart, had nothing to do with what happened.
Braxton's father, Domynic Dykstra, gave an impact statement before Judge Robert Springstead shared his sentence.
"It destroyed a little eight-year-old girl's life, Braxton's big sister. She has to live every day knowing what happened when the gunshot went off. She will always remember that day, probably thinking to herself, what if she was faster to get up and get help? The innocence in her eyes is gone. She will never be the same after this horrible tragedy we all are living through," Dykstra said to the court. "Grandparents are supposed to keep their grandbabies safe."
He said no matter how much time the judge handed to Robart, it'll never be enough.
Robart's attorney said Robart knows he is responsible for what happened.
"He wants everyone to know that he's extremely sorry for this whole situation, and he is not shirking his responsibility in this at all," Robart's attorney said.
The judge offered Robart a chance to speak before learning his sentence.
"There's a lot of things I could say, but they're not going to change what happened," Robart said as his voice broke and he began to cry. "My daughter knows how much I love her, and if I survive this, I will do everything I can in my life to continue to support her and her children. That's all I can say."
The prosecution said the boy's death could've been prevented. Judge Springstead agreed.
"All you had to do was put those loaded guns away... Your failure to take the most simple safety precautions changed the lives of so many people," he said.
The judge referenced the police investigation that revealed family members warned Robart to put away those firearms months before Braxton's death.
"I can't see how a six-year-old boy with no experience with guns could, number one, find ammunition that was supposedly hidden. Number two, try and figure out how to load a shell into this Remington 870 shotgun, especially since you said that the that the safety was on, would have to take the safety off, would have to move the slide forward, would have to feed a shell into the bottom, push it forward till it clicks, and then activate the slide. All those things don't seem possible to me," the judge said.
"You left this gun loaded. You knew it was loaded," the Judge said. "I don't see that you take any responsibility for what happened."
Theresa Robart is expected to stand trial for her alleged role in what happened.