Man accused of not contacting law enforcement after child accidentally shoots himself

Moberly police arrested Brian Ashbaker for endangering the welfare of a child after riding around in a vehicle with a 15-year-old boy that accidentally shot himself.

According to the probable cause statement, in May, Moberly officers arrested Michael Ellington into custody for an active warrant.

Officers said when Ellington was in custody, he began to provide information about knowing the whereabouts of a boy who had shot himself in the leg.

One officer said he was aware of a call stating a 15-year-old boy was suspected of stealing his mother’s vehicle, thousands of dollars in cash and was in the possession of a handgun.

Officers said Ellington told them they needed to find the boy because he has a gunshot to his leg and needs to go to the hospital. Ellington also said the boy was riding around with Ashbaker in a Lincoln town car.

Ellington continued to say the boy was messing around with the gun when he accidentally shot himself, but he refused to go to the hospital because he was wanted by law enforcement, officers said.

Ellington advised Ashbaker drove the boy to a Stephen Thorps residence where his girlfriend, Kelly Allen, patched up the boy’s gunshot wound, officers said.

According to the probable cause statement, Ellington found all this information out when he was asked to clean blood out of the Lincoln.

Officers said while they were out looking for the boy, they were dispatched to the Moberly Super 8 for a young male running around the parking lot naked and bleeding.

Officers said they located the boy and determined he was the same one from Ellington’s story.

Officers said they noticed the boy had a gunshot wound on his left leg, which was actively bleeding despite having a bandage covering it.

The boy was uncooperative and appeared to under the influence of something and would not say what happened to him, officers said.

According to the press release, officers later discovered the Lincoln, pulling onto Carpenter Street. Officers pulled the vehicle over and discovered Thorpe and Allen were in the car.

Officers said while they were talking with Thorpe and Allen, Ashbaker pulled up attempting to explain the situation.

Officers said Allen admitted to treating the boy for his injury and agreed she should have called law enforcement.

When officers interviewed Ashbaker, he admitted to the boy playing around with the gun before going off. He said he tried to take the boy to the hospital but the boy did not want to go, the press release states.

Officers said they searched the vehicle and found the floor boards to be soaked with what appeared to be bloody water.

On Tuesday, Ashbaker was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.