Minnesota Man Gets New Plea Deal For Shooting Death of Young Son

Fairmont, MN (KROC-AM News) - A new plea agreement has been worked out with a southern Minnesota man charged in connection with the shooting death of his young son.

34-year-old Colton Mammenga of Welcome had been expected to admit to a felony child endangerment charge back in April, but the plea deal apparently fell apart before a guilty plea was entered. Under the terms of that agreement, Mammenga would have been sentenced to probation with a stay of adjudication and no jail time. It also required him to participate in speaking events about the negligent storage of firearms.

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Colton was charged last fall with two counts of second-degree manslaughter, the child endangerment charge, and a gross misdemeanor charge of negligent storage of firearms. He was accused of leaping a loaded handgun in a storage pocket in the passenger side front door of the families pickup truck before they departed their home in the Fairmont area on the morning of October 15, 2023.

According to the criminal complaint, Colton's 4-year-old son apparently took the gun from the storage pocket while his father and mother ran into their home to grab some items just before they left. As they were driving down a highway a few minutes later, the gun discharged and the bullet struck Colton's 2-year-old son.

The court document says Mammenga told investigators that "he heard a loud pop and looked into the back seat and saw blood coming down from the 2-year-old's forehead." Mammenga stated that he jumped into the back seat and grabbed his young son as soon as they had stopped and began performing CPR until emergency responders arrived.

Under the terms of a revamped plea agreement, Mammenga entered a guilty plea today to the felony child endangerment charge in exchange for the dismissal of the manslaughter counts and the gross misdemeanor charge of negligent storage of a firearm. This time, the plea deal calls for a stayed prison sentence, up to 90 days in jail, and 500 hours of community work service involving speaking engagements about firearm safety.

Mammenga is scheduled to be sentenced in September.

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