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Charlotte Sun (Port Charlotte, FL) – Wednesday, May 22, 2013

PUNTA GORDA — The father of a 2-year-old boy who shot and killed himself with an unsecured firearm in November will not go to jail, authorities said Tuesday.

Christopher Davis, 24, of Port Charlotte, was charged in January with culpable negligence, a third-degree felony, after he allegedly left his Glock .40 handgun unsecured in his closet and his son, Christopher Eli, grabbed it and accidentally shot himself.

In court Monday, lawyers announced they’d reached a plea deal for Davis and he will avoid incarceration. On Tuesday, Davis’ defense lawyer, Russell Kirshy, would not give any specifics of the deal. Davis is expected to formally plea during his next court appearance July 18, according to Samantha Syoen, spokeswoman for the 20th Circuit State Attorney’s Office.

Kirshy said that he and prosecutors took several factors into account before coming to an agreement, including the wishes of the family, the fact that Davis had no prior record, and the traumatic nature of the incident.

‘We worked together to reach a fair alternative to incarceration,’ Kirshy said.

Around 3 a.m. Nov. 18, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office responded to Davis’ home on the 21300 block of Hubbard Avenue in Port Charlotte, in reference to a medical call related to a small boy who was not breathing and reportedly had blood on him.

When deputies arrived, the child’s mother, Lisset Elias, 22, was standing in the driveway with the child wrapped in a blanket, according to a sheriff’s report.

The child, Christopher Eli, did not have a pulse and was taken to Peace River Regional Medical Center in Port Charlotte, where he was pronounced dead.

Davis also has a 1-year-old daughter. The family since has moved and now lives with Davis’ mother, according to neighbors.

‘They are really good, hardworking people,’ said neighbor Kala Hemphill, 20. ‘All the kids in the neighborhood play at their house. They are very family oriented and very close with (Davis’) mother.’