The father of a 14-year-old boy who brought his dad’s gun to a Chula Vista high school was sentenced Nov. 13 to 240 days in jail and house arrest for child endangerment and unlawful possession of two firearms by a felon.
The judge specified that Zachariah Joseph Dow, 37, spend 30 days in jail and 210 days in house arrest with electronic surveillance under terms of four years probation. Dow was convicted of domestic violence in 2001, and could have received eight years in prison.
Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Garry Haehnle gave him credit for four days previously spent in jail and a $1,344 fine. Dow had been free on $100,000 bond, but was taken into custody at sentencing.
“How many times have we seen on the news, time and time again, of kids taking guns from their parents from unlocked containers and shooting and killing people with those guns?” said Haehnle. “He didn’t lock them up.”
No one was injured in the May 21 incident in which his son showed up at Hilltop High School with his father’s gun in his backpack. The boy allegedly showed it to several students. Someone called Chula Vista Police, and the boy was arrested and his backpack seized during a class.
The ninth grader apparently did not threaten anyone and he was prosecuted in Juvenile Court, though his case status could not be determined as it is confidential. A published report said the boy had been bullied.
“I’m extremely grateful that my son and no one else were hurt that day,” said Dow in court.
Dow pleaded guilty July 22 to all four counts which also included an admission he was prohibited from possessing ammunition. Police found two guns hidden under a mattress with ammunition in the home after serving a search warrant.
“He is a child in my custody and control and I caused my child to be placed in a dangerous possession of two guns and ammunition unlawfully,” wrote Dow on a court document.
