FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Sheriff’s deputies in Flagler County arrested the father of the suspect accused of shooting an 18-month-old last year, accusing him of staging the crime scene and disposing of evidence to cover up the crime for his son.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said CJ Nelson Sr. was arrested on Jan. 5 and faces charges of tampering with evidence and providing false information to law enforcement officers.
Ja’liyah Allen, 18 months old, was shot in the head on Sept. 3 at a home on Ranwood Lane in Palm Coast.
A couple months after the fatal shooting, the girl’s uncle, CJ Nelson Jr., was arrested on a charge of manslaughter with a firearm.
Staly said during a November news conference that the girl and her mother were playing in the hallway when the shooting happened.
“During this mother-daughter playtime, a shot was fired. It went through a bedroom wall and struck little Ja’liyah in the head. We determined that CJ Nelson was impaired and high on THC at the time of the shooting and handling the firearm,” the sheriff said.
Staly said that at the time, detectives were concerned that people in the house were not being truthful with investigators and that the crime scene had possibly been tampered with.
Staly said CJ Nelson Sr. was called after the shooting and provided instructions on staging the scene, including how to get rid of evidence, and instructed witnesses to provide an alibi. Specifically, he told witnesses to tell deputies that both he and Nelson Jr. had been outside smoking at the time of the incident, deputies said.
In a release on Monday afternoon, deputies explained that Nelson Sr. had taken the firearm used in the shooting from his son, using a tee shirt to prevent fingerprints from being found on the gun.
“After the father and son relocated to a residence on Princeton Lane in Palm Coast, CJ Nelson Sr. advised CJ Nelson Jr. to take a shower to remove any trace evidence or gunshot residue,” the release reads.
Staly said Nelson Sr. was arrested while depositing money in his son’s jail account. He was given a $15,000 bond, which he posted and has since been released.
Staly said he was concerned about that because Nelson Sr. had also made veiled threats against detectives, the sheriff and the media in jailhouse calls.
The release shows that Nelson Sr. has an “extensive criminal history,” including arrests involving charges of battery, obstruction, possession of illicit substances and child neglect with great bodily harm.
“This case is a prime example that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree,” Staly said. “I hope he and his son enjoy prison.”
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