laurence.hammack@roanoke.com 981-3239

Isaiah Wiley was charged Monday in connection with the death of his 4-year-old son, who authorities say accidentally shot himself last month with his father's gun.

A Roanoke grand jury indicted Wiley on charges of involuntary manslaughter and felony child neglect.

As a convicted felon, Wiley was barred from possessing the 9 mm handgun that authorities said Asadi Wiley found in his car the afternoon of Sept. 3. The boy apparently shot himself in the head as his father stood nearby, talking to a friend.

"That's what makes it so egregious," Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Andrew Stephens said. "He's not even supposed to have a firearm."

Wiley was initially charged only with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, but prosecutors on Monday took the unusual step of seeking a manslaughter charge.

"I can't ever recall seeing a charge quite like this one," said Wiley's attorney, Chris Kowalczuk.

Wiley, 23, is accused of recklessly causing the death of his son "during the prosecution of an unlawful act, accompanied by carelessness so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a callous disregard for human life."

Through his attorney, Wiley has expressed regret for the accident.

"He and his family continue to grieve, unimaginably so, for the loss of their child," Kowalczuk said.

Since Asadi Wiley shot himself in a green Cadillac parked outside his grandparents' home on Linwood Road Northwest, authorities have investigated another shooting that they say might have involved the same gun.

According to a search warrant filed in Roanoke Circuit Court, police were called to a shooting at an apartment on King Arthur Court on Aug. 29, just five days before Asadi's death. Isaiah Wiley told them a stranger kicked open his door and began shooting at him. But police believe the shots may have been fired by either Wiley or a third person, according to the search warrant.

Although Wiley has not been charged in connection with that case, a bullet recovered from the scene is being tested to see if it can be linked to the gun involved in Asadi's death.

In researching the charges against Wiley, Roanoke prosecutors considered another case involving the accidental shooting of a child. In that case, Rodney Patterson was charged with child neglect after a 3-year-old boy found his gun in a Roanoke apartment and accidentally shot himself to death in 2002.

A city judge dismissed the charge two years later, saying there was insufficient proof that Patterson willfully left his gun unattended, knowing the likely result. But unlike Wiley, Patterson was not a convicted felon and had a license to carry a concealed weapon.

According to court records. Wiley was convicted earlier this year in Salem of possession of cocaine.

After spending the Labor Day weekend in jail on the initial charge involving his son's death, Wiley was released on a $5,000 bond. But just two weeks later, he was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. He has been held without bond since.