Newark Man Who Mistakenly Shot 5-Year-Old Sentenced

A Newark man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm, a crime discovered when he opened fire on his girlfriend and struck a young child instead, the US Attorney for New Jersey said in a statement.

A Newark man was sentenced to a decade in prison, authorities said

Paul Milo

12/19/2019 4:21 p.m.

Jamar Battle, 31, had been out of prison for just a few months on July 4, 2018, when he got into a fight with his girlfriend. Battle, who was prohibited from possessing a gun because of prior felony convictions, was waiting outside the woman's home and fired six shots at the vehicle the woman was traveling in.

He missed the woman but struck a 5-year-old girl who was returning from watching a fireworks display with her father. The child "suffered a major injury," authorities said, but survived the shooting.

Battle will also be subject to three years of supervised release following completion of his sentence.

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