NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The mother of the 6-year-old Richneck Elementary School student who shot his teacher earlier this year was arraigned in Newport News Circuit Court on Friday morning.
The court appearance comes after Deja Taylor, 25, was indicted by a grand jury earlier this week on a charge of felony child neglect and a misdemeanor charge of endangering a child by reckless storage of a firearm.
She turned herself in at the Newport News City Jail Thursday but later posted $5,000 and was released on bond.
During Friday's arraignment, her charges were read and a date for a bench trial was set for August 15.
Taylor appeared somber and stood with her hands clasped behind her back as the two charges against her were read in court. She did not speak except to say “no, sir” in response to a question from the judge.
After the hearing, she quickly walked away from a scrum of reporters and TV cameras without commenting.
The felony neglect charge is punishable by up to five years in prison. The misdemeanor charge of recklessly storing a firearm is punishable by up to one year in jail.
In brief remarks with reporters after the hearing, Taylor's attorney, James Ellenson, said they are hoping to reach an agreement with the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
"I don’t think jail is the right answer," Ellenson said.
He referred to certain stressors Taylor experienced leading up to the shooting.
"She had a very severe miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy miscarriage," Ellenson said.
An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a pregnancy develops outside the uterus, often in a fallopian tube. Ellenson said the miscarriages resulted in post-partum depression.
“We’re looking forward to working collaboratively with the Commonwealth’s Attorney's Office to resolve the charges," Ellenson said, adding that he is hoping for “something that is fair, something that is just."
He also said the 6-year-old boy's mother, grandfather, and father accompanied him in the classroom during the school year, but it stopped after Christmas break.
“The decision-makers at Richneck Elementary decided it was OK for the child to attend class without either the mom or the grandfather, and on occasion the father," Ellenson said.
He said he plans to subpoena several people at the school.
Police say the boy fired a single shot at his first-grade teacher, Abigail Zwerner, on January 6, striking her in the left hand and chest. She spent two weeks in the hospital and has had four surgeries since the shooting.
Ellenson has said the mother believed her gun, which was legally purchased, was secured on a top shelf in her closet and had a trigger lock. It is unclear how the boy got the gun and was able to take it to school on the day of the shooting.
Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school system last week, accusing school officials of gross negligence and of ignoring multiple warnings from teachers and others in the hours before the shooting that the boy had a gun.
The city prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that it is investigating whether the “actions or omissions” of any school employees could lead to criminal charges.
Ellenson on Friday also gave an update on the status of the 6-year-old, saying he hasn't returned home since the shooting, but the family hoped to get him to live with his grandfather.
A decision has been delayed, though.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.