Superior man faces neglect charge

A Superior man accused of shooting a 12-year-old with a BB gun is facing new charges for child neglect.

John Jeffrey Doolittle, 33, is charged with misdemeanor child neglect and two counts felony bail jumping in Douglas County Circuit Court stemming from a Dec. 5 incident. He made an initial appearance the following day. Cash bail was set at $500 with the condition he does not consume alcohol and has only supervised contact with the two minor children involved.

According to the criminal complaint:

Doolittle’s children, both younger than age 6, knocked on a neighbor’s door, screaming and crying because they could not wake their father and their mother was not home. Deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department responded to the residence in the village of Superior. They found Doolittle asleep on a mattress on the floor. They had to yell at and shake him several times before he opened his eyes, which were bloodshot. The deputies asked if he knew where his children were and he replied “Wherever you put them.”

Deputies noticed several beer cans in a trash can just inside the door. Doolittle denied drinking, but refused to take a breath test. He was taken to Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Hospital for a blood test.

Deputies were unable to find any shoes or winter clothing for the children. The children said they were carried if they had to go outside.

In June, Doolittle was charged with felony physical abuse of a child-intentionally cause harm, and strangulation and suffocation in Douglas County Circuit Court. In that incident, he is accused of shooting a 12-year-old with a BB gun and choking him to the point of passing out. As a condition of his $3,000 signature bond in that case, Doolittle was ordered not to commit any crime. He also signed an additional $3,000 signature bond for a separate bail jumping incident. One of the conditions of that bond was that he not consume or possess any alcoholic beverages.

Doolittle is scheduled for a court appearance in the child neglect case Wednesday. A status conference for the child abuse and bail jumping cases is slated for later this month.

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