Elgin man charged with having gun, drugs after boy, 4, shot himself

CEDAR RAPIDS - An Elgin man was charged Wednesday in federal court for illegally possessing a gun while being a marijuana user after a 4-year-old boy found the gun and fatally shot himself last June.

Daniel Henriksen, 29, is charged in U.S. District Court with one count of possessing a firearm while being an unlawful marijuana user.

If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release following any prison time.

Court documents show Fayette County Sheriff's deputies and emergency responders came to Henriksen's home in Elgin after receiving a 911 call June 17. Once at the residence, they found the child with a gunshot wound to his head.

The child - identified at the time as Jayden Choate of Fort Atkinson - was taken to Palmer Lutheran Hospital in West Union, where he later died, court documents show.

Jayden found the gun in Henriksen's mobile home, where the child was taking a nap, the affidavit states. The firearm was a Glock 36, a .45-caliber handgun.

Deputies said the boy, his mother, his 3-year-old brother and 4-month-old sister were visiting the residence. The boy's mother and another person were sitting on the deck while the children were inside the trailer.

Henriksen admitted to owning the gun and also admitted to police he was a drug user and had smoked marijuana in his home the night before the shooting.

During the search of Henriksen's mobile home, officers seized several items of drug paraphernalia, including marijuana pipes.

Henriksen was released Wednesday with conditions pending trial. His arraignment will be set at a later time.

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