Superior man could escape felony conviction

A Superior man who shot a 12-year-old with a BB gun will have a chance to escape a felony conviction.

John Jeffrey Doolittle, 33, pleaded no contest in Douglas County Circuit Court on Feb. 1 to one count felony physical abuse of a child-intentionally cause bodily harm and misdemeanor child neglect, disorderly conduct and bail jumping. Additional counts of disorderly conduct, bail jumping and strangulation were dismissed.

Doolittle was sentenced to two years of probation for the disorderly conduct and child neglect charges. He also was ordered to undergo a chemical dependency evaluation, join a domestic violence group, maintain absolute sobriety, submit to random urinalysis and only have agent-approved contact with the victim.

He also was sentenced to 60 days in jail for the bail jumping charge.

A deferred judgment of conviction agreement was entered on the abuse charge. If Doolittle successfully completes probation, pays court costs of $245 and does not break any other laws for two years, the charge would be amended to misdemeanor battery with a 30-day concurrent jail sentence. Any alcohol or substance abuse violations, however, could be grounds for cancelling the agreement.

According to the criminal complaints:

Doolittle shot a 12-year-old with a BB gun on June 5 because the child refused to do the dishes. Six months later, the Superior man was found sleeping in his apartment while his two young children were in the hallway screaming and crying because they couldn’t wake him up. Beer cans were found in the trash just inside the door and an odor of intoxicants was coming from Doolittle.

As a condition of his bail in the child abuse case, the Superior man was ordered not to possess or consume any alcohol.

Tags: crime and courts, news, superior