FLAGLER COUNTY, FL- On Sept. 23, 2023, an 18-month-old child, Ja’liyah Allen, was shot in the head in Palm Coast, Florida. At the time of the shooting, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said at a news conference that the child and her mother were playing in the hallway when the shooting happened, ClickOrlando reported.
"During this mother-daughter playtime, a shot was fired. It went through a bedroom wall and struck little Ja’liyah in the head. We determined that CJ Nelson was impaired and high on THC at the time of the shooting and handling the firearm,” Staly said.
At the time of the news conference, Staly expressed concern that residents of the house were not being truthful with law enforcement officials and that the crime scene had possibly been tampered with.
Now, Nelson’s father–CJ Nelson Sr., has been arrested in connection with the case, accused of helping his son stage the scene, destroy evidence, and instructing them on how to provide an alibi. In particular, he told the witnesses to claim that both he and Nelson Jr. had been outside smoking at the time of the incident, deputies said. A Flagler County grand jury indicted Nelson Jr. for manslaughter charges.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced Nelson Sr.'s arrest last Monday, Fox News reports.
“The apple did not fall far from the tree, and CJ Nelson Sr. will never be the father of the years or even a day by his actions,” Staly said. I again commend Detective Gordon and our Major Case Unit for continuing to dig to find out who tampered with the scene and what was done and by whom.”
On the night of the shooting, Nelson Sr. was called to the home, where he had his son hand over the gun used in the shooting, handling the weapon with a t-shirt to prevent his fingerprints from being found on the gun.
Staly said Nelson Sr. then placed the gun in the bedroom, where sheriff’s deputies found it. After putting the gun away, both men drove to a residence in Palm Coast, Florida, where Nelson Sr. instructed his son to take a shower to eliminate any trace of gunshot residue on his person.
“After the father and son relocated to a residence on Princeton Lane in Palm Coast, CJ Nelson Sr. advised CJ Nelson Jr. to take a shower to remove any trace evidence or gunshot residue,” the release said.
After a lengthy investigation, sheriff’s detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Nelson Sr., charging him with tampering with evidence and providing false information to law enforcement during an investigation.
He was arrested at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he can now join his son Nelson Jr., who is being incarcerated at the facility pending trial. Nelson Sr. was released after posting a $15,000 bond.
Nelson Sr. has an extensive criminal history going back over twenty years for charges that included battery, cocaine possession, sale of cocaine, and child neglect with bodily harm.
“We have a very good team, and we have very good technology,” Staly said. “We just kept working the case ever since the shooting as we knew immediately from the evidence the crime scene had been tampered with and witnesses were not being forthcoming.”
Staly also expressed concern about Nelson Sr.’s release on a reasonably small bond, saying that he had made veiled threats against detectives, the sheriff, and the media in jailhouse calls to his son.
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