Henrico judge denies bond for man charged after 5-year-old fatally shot himself

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A Henrico County Juvenile and Domestic Relations judge denied bond for a man charged after a 5-year-old boy allegedly grabbed his unsecured, loaded gun and shot and killed himself.

Steven Renard Blakeney Jr., 26, is charged with improper storage of firearms and allowing access to firearms by children for the incident that happened at the Cool Lane Commons Apartments on Saturday, October 24.

Henrico County

Man charged after 5-year-old boy fatally shot inside Henrico apartment

WTVR Web Staff

Henrico County Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Alison Martin said Blakeney was the boyfriend of the woman whose apartment it happened in.

Martin told the court the five-year-old arrived at the unit with his mother as she was coming to get her lashes done. She said Blakeney let them into the apartment and within four minutes, the boy had found Blakeney’s handgun and accidentally shot himself.

In arguing for bond, Blakeney’s attorney said Blakeney had no criminal record, was not a flight risk, lived with his sister and father, and posed no continuing danger to the community. He added Blakeney had previously completed firearm safety training.

Martin agreed that Blakeney was not a flight risk, but said Blakeney spends half his time at his girlfriend's. Martin added the girlfriend told law enforcement that she always told Blakeney he needed to put his gun away because it was not a toy.

Judge Marissa D. Mitchell denied bond on the basis and said the safety training did not stop Blakeney from allegedly leaving the loaded gun unsecured around a child. She said Blakeney can appeal the decision.

His next scheduled court date is January 4, 2027.

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