Gun owner on trial 2 years after Fresno toddler shoots, kills himself with loose weapon

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- "His eyes were wide. He was pale. He looked confused and dazed," recalled Fresno Police officer Joel Sanchez.

A look of shock after a little boy found a gun and shot himself when he was left alone by the adults who were supposed to be watching him.

The two-year-old died in July 2018.

The man who owned the gun is on trial for child abuse and criminal storage of a firearm.

Jace Alexander was all alone when he found a gun belonging to his father's roommate Oscar Ramos.

Police say the 2-year-old shot himself with the unsecured Sig Sauer semi-automatic pistol and officers couldn't save the boy.

"The toddler was laying on his back. He had a stroller on his head, supporting his head, and then he had a gunshot wound to his left eye," said Sanchez.

Investigators say Ramos hesitated to call 911 and was clearly in shock when they got there.

The boy's father had come home from work by then and clung to his son.

Memories of a little boy shot to death more than two years ago still weighed on some of the officers, including Sanchez, who was first on the scene, and Gary Holden, who wasn't far behind.

"The father was holding his son on the ground," said Holden.

"And for the record, you got a little emotional there. Why?" asked prosecutor David Olmos.

"It's a young child," Holden said.

Police say Jonathan Alexander had warned Ramos to keep the gun away from his kids and he had a gun safe in his bedroom, which was also usually locked.

But investigators say the weapon was in the living room with Jace when Ramos and Alexander's girlfriend went into the master bedroom to play video games.

In police body camera video, Ramos can be heard admitting the gun was his and that he moved it right after the shooting.

"I unloaded it. And I just wanted it as far away as possible," Ramos can be heard saying.

The prosecutor says he'll wrap up his case by Friday and then, Ramos is expected to testify in his own defense.