Charges: Welcome roommates left loaded firearms accessible to toddler
Three roommates face criminal charges for allegedly leaving loaded firearms within reach of a toddler living in their Welcome trailer.
Brandon Donovan Buesing, 21, Dusty Jean Flynn, 39, and David Michael Clay, Jr, 27, were each charged Tuesday with one count of negligent firearm storage in Martin County Court. The charge carries a sentence of up to a year in jail and $3,000 in fines since the firearms were allegedly loaded and left where a child could gain access.
Court documents say Sherburn/Welcome police were called to the Elm Tree Trailer Court on July 31, where Buesing and Clay were allegedly involved in a physical altercation.
According to a criminal complaint, Clay told the responding officer that Buesing kept a loaded Remington 9mm handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun in the trailer. Clay told police the shotgun was either sitting under the coffee table or leaning up against the cabinet, while the handgun was stored in an end table drawer by the couch.
An officer asked Clay if the firearms were accessible to the 3-year-old child who lives in the home, and Clay confirmed they were, says the complaint.
Clay was arrested for domestic assault and transported to the Martin County Jail, according to the complaint, but police returned to the home to ask Flynn about the guns.
Court documents say Flynn retrieved the weapons for police, who found the handgun loaded with an 18-round magazine. The shotgun was loaded with two shells and contained another five in the shell holder, according to investigators.
The complaint says Flynn admitted to police the firearms stay loaded and were stored in the living room. Flynn also admitted she was not aware of the guns ever being locked up, say court documents.
