Arkansas woman whose son was shot in face pleads guilty to firearm charge

Lessie Christine Augusta Galo (Photo via Hot Springs Sentinel-Record)
Lessie Christine Augusta Galo (Photo via Hot Springs Sentinel-Record)

A Pearcy woman on parole whose 17-year-old son was shot in the face earlier this year was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to a felony firearms charge.

Lessie Christine Augusta Galo, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by certain persons while other charges were withdrawn.

Keonte Deshon Rauls, 18, of Hot Springs, faces a charge of second-degree battery in the shooting. He has pleaded not guilty.

According to probable cause affidavits filed in the case, the Garland County Sheriff's Department on Feb. 14 received a phone call from Galo stating a juvenile male, her son, was suffering from a single gunshot wound and they were en route to the hospital.

Rauls was also found in the vehicle and both he and Galo were brought in for questioning.

Galo told investigators she had been in the shower when she heard "a pop," police wrote, noting she said she came out and Rauls told her, "I didn't mean to shoot him. I didn't know it was loaded."

Rauls reportedly told investigators he was sitting in a chair in the living room of the residence when he accidentally shot the victim in the face with a "snub nose .38-special revolver that was silver in color."

As a previously convicted felon, Galo was prohibited from owning or possessing any firearms. She was convicted in 2015 of four counts of possession of a controlled substance, theft of property and residential burglary.

Click here to read the full story in today's Hot Springs Sentinel-Record.

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