Judge suggests woman should not have more kids

Monday, Jan. 10, 2005 | 8:34 a.m.

A Las Vegas judge Friday told a 25-year-old pregnant mother of five that she should not have any more children.

Julia Jackson was in court to face child abuse and neglect charges. She had been charged because her 5-year-old son had shot his 13-month-old sister during a time when they had been left home alone with their 4-year-old brother.

Instead of immediately calling 911 or taking her wounded toddler to the hospital when she returned home and discovered the injury, Jackson called family members. The baby was taken first to another home and then to the hospital, by Jackson's father.

"I love my kids. I just made a mistake,"Jackson told Justice of the Peace Ann E. Zimmerman.

Jackson waived her right to her preliminary hearing and is expected to plead guilty to one felony count of abuse with substantial bodily harm and four counts of gross misdemeanor child neglect before District Judge Stewart Bell on Jan. 18.

Zimmerman confronted what was perhaps the most pressing concern regarding Jackson's case by asking aloud, "What's going to happen to the kids?

"You need to quit having babies," Zimmerman told Jackson. "Babies are wonderful, but they are a lot of work, and babies need lots of love and attention."

As she stood in hand and ankle chains in court, Jackson said the child she is carrying will be her sixth. She has four at home and one other child that stays with her mother.

Her attorney, Gabe Grasso, said Jackson "has always stated to me she was hoping to continue taking care of her kids."

Chief Deputy District Attorney Doug Herndon said Jackson should not regain custody of her children anytime soon.

"I don't think it serves any interest for the children to be with her (Jackson) anytime in the immediate future," Herndon said. "I'm not saying she can't clean her life up, but for the immediate future her children have no business being in her custody."

Herndon said although all of the offenses are probational, Jackson could be sentenced to one to 10 years in prison. Herndon has agreed to recommend Jackson's sentence run concurrent with an attempted burglary case for which she is awaiting sentencing on before District Judge Donald Mosley on Jan. 19.

The prosecutor noted that even before the shooting Child Protective Services had to investigate allegations that Jackson was not properly supervising her children.

Herndon said he wasn't sure what the fate of Jackson's children would be, but said it would ultimately be decided by Child Protective Services and the courts.

Jackson said she had been shopping at a "hair store" when her daughter was shot in the buttocks on Dec. 7 at her apartment in the 800 block of F Street. While Jackson was gone, her 5-year-old son apparently found a .25-caliber pistol and fired it.

When she returned home about 6:30 p.m. and found the toddler bleeding, Jackson started calling family members, according to the arrest report. Jackson's father came to the apartment and the injured child was driven to a home in the 5800 block of West Lake Mead Boulevard.

The baby didn't arrive at University Medical Center until about 7:30 p.m., according to police reports.

A short time after the baby was taken to the hospital, police found Jackson sitting in a car in front of a relative's house and arrested her.

Metro Police have investigated seven child-involved shootings, including Jackson's case, since March of 2003.

Four of the shootings were accidental and involved victims under the age of 10. The rest involved teens -- one was a teenage girl shot intentionally by her brother and two were intentional shootings by strangers.