An ex-con pleaded no contest Thursday to a felony gun charge after he left a shotgun in the back seat of a car where a 4-year-old boy found the weapon and accidentally shot his mother in Norwalk.
Brandon Gilbert Ambriz, 24, of Norwalk, was immediately sentenced to five years in state prison following his plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.
As a result of his plea, four felony counts of child abuse were dismissed against Ambriz, involving four children who were in the car at the time of the Jan. 23 shooting but were not injured.
Ambriz left the shotgun in the vehicle in which children were regularly driven, but was not in the car at the time of the shooting, according to Deputy District Attorney Chad Gillette.
The 4-year-old boy, who was in the back seat, accidentally shot his mother while handling the weapon.
Ambriz was arrested the day of the shooting and has remained behind bars since then.
