Father pleads not guilty to reckless endangerment

Published 6:07 pm Thursday, April 2, 2015

EVERETT — A Lake Stevens father whose young son shot himself in the mouth pleaded not guilty Thursday to reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor.

Everett District Court Judge Anthony Howard ordered Jon Holzwarth not to have guns around any children. He also must be supervised when he visits his son, now 4.

Holzwarth, 47, is accused of leaving a loaded gun within reach of his son, then 3. Detectives believe the boy climbed onto a dresser in the master bedroom and found his dad’s loaded .38-caliber pistol.

Witnesses told investigators that they had warned Holzwarth to secure his guns. His mother in-law had dropped off trigger locks a couple of days before the Nov. 21 shooting.

Investigators found the locks still in their packaging when they searched the man’s condominium.

The judge was told that Holzwarth is not living in the family home but has regular visits with his son. Trial was set for June 8.