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BRIDGEPORT — A Monroe man charged months after his 2-year-old son was injured by a gunshot last year rejected a plea offer in the case calling for him to serve more than seven years behind bars. The defendant, 31-year-old Barrington Strauchn, appeared briefly before Judge Shari A. Murphy at the Bridgeport Judicial District Courthouse Thursday, where he faces charges of criminal possession of a firearm and risk of injury to a minor in connection with the July 23, 2024, incident. Strauchn's attorney, Frank Riccio, told the judge he had talked with Strauchn about the offer, which called for a 14-year prison sentence to be suspended after 85 months in prison, followed by five years of probation. "We've discussed the pros and cons of accepting the offer and not accepting the offer," Riccio said. "It's my understanding he wishes to reject the offer and have the matter placed on the trial list." Murphy then questioned Strauchn to make sure he understood the maximum potential penalties on the charges he faces. "If you're tried and you're convicted, you could face up to 20 years in jail, do you understand that?" the judge asked. "Yes, ma'am," replied Strauchn, who is free on $150,000 bail. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the exact circumstances of the accidental July 23, 2024, shooting were unclear following the incident. The 2-year-old boy was shot in his home, according to the affidavit, which said that when the child's mother learned of the injuries, she tried to drive him to a local hospital for treatment before calling 911. Dispatchers told the mother to pull over with her child before officers and emergency medical personnel got to her vehicle. The toddler was shot in his hand and foot, and he was taken to Bridgeport Hospital and later Yale New Haven Hospital for further treatment. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, written by Monroe police Detective Stacy Cascante, police found "excessive blood" in the home's upstairs hallway and a bedroom, but the people there at the time were uncooperative, and Strauchn was determined to be in New York when his cell phone was pinged after he didn't answer it. The toddler's mother said the boy and Strauchn were in the bedroom when she heard a "pop" noise and she went to the room to find the boy "actively bleeding" and Strauchn said the boy had shot himself, according to the affidavit. The affidavit said Dr. James Gill, the state's chief medical examiner, examined photographs of the victim's injuries and that, based on the facts presented, said it was possible the boy had fired the weapon, "but there were other factors that are unknown for him to determine with certainty." Another person living at the home at the time, who has not been charged, told police the gun was his and that he had found it "while walking around Monroe," the affidavit said. He said he had left the gun in the bedroom and disposed of it in the woods after the shooting because he panicked, according to police. The affidavit said that based on the witness interviews, Strauchn was the only adult in the bedroom at the time of the shooting and "took on the assumed responsibility for watching/caring for" the victim. It said he violated the law "due to (the victim) being in close proximity to a firearm, the firearm being improperly stored, and (the victim) being injured from a gunshot while under the supervision of B. Strauchn."
