SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota—A South Dakota man has been charged with second-degree manslaughter after negligently shooting his pregnant wife, killing the fetus, police said.
Sheldon Pettibone, 22, of Sioux Falls, told police he was cleaning his gun Sunday when it fired, shooting his wife, Melanie, who was about 18 weeks pregnant, the Argus Leader reported.
She was rushed to a hospital, and the fetus was delivered by cesarean section but was dead. An autopsy found that the bullet hit Melanie Pettibone in the thigh and traveled to her uterus.
Police initially arrested Sheldon Pettibone for negligently discharging the gun but on Wednesday, he was charged with manslaughter. Pettibone appeared in court Thursday on the new charges. Bond was set at $50,000 cash only. A public defender will represent Pettibone, and the Minnehaha County, public defender’s office, declined to comment.
Police say Pettibone admitted he was distracted by a football game on TV. He said the gun might have fired because of “operator error.”
Pettibone told police the gun fired when he released the slide and pulled it back a second time, and said it was “likely” the round was discharged from the weapon in between the two movements. He told police his finger was “never within” the trigger guard.
After obtaining a search warrant, police found a loaded magazine in a boot behind the couch where Pettibone said he was going to sit and watch the game and clean his gun. Investigators also found a spent .40-caliber shell casing in the trash and an unloaded .40-caliber handgun with the slide locked back on the upper shelf of a bedroom closet. There were no rounds in the chamber and no magazine.
Melanie Pettibone told police she was sitting on the couch watching the football game. Her husband was sitting on the opposite side of the sofa, with pieces of the handgun in his lap.
She heard a “loud noise” and felt a “sharp pain” in her leg, and she ran out of the apartment. She came back inside and told Pettibone she had been shot. Pettibone helped her to their van and went back inside the apartment. He returned after “a short period” and applied a tourniquet to her leg before driving to the hospital.
In January, Sheldon Pettibone got arrested after authorities said he shot at people whom he claimed had stolen his phone. Police said he was charged with the reckless discharge of a firearm and discharging a weapon within city limits. Those charges were dismissed, and Pettibone pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was given a 30-day suspended jail sentence.
From Argus Leader via Associated Press
