A Collegeville woman has been sentenced to jail time, house arrest and probation for her role in the March 2021 shooting death of her 12-year-old daughter, Jasiyah Vasquez.
Daisy Vasquez, 32, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child and criminal attempt – possession of a firearm by a minor, in connection with the incident. Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Risa Ferman sentenced Vasquez to 90 days in county jail, followed by eight-and-a-half months of house arrest and four years’ probation, according to court records.
Additional sentencing stipulations require that Vasquez continues to undergo mental health treatment, comply with all Office of Children and Youth and juvenile court orders, and she is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm.
Additional counts of endangering the welfare of a child, as well as charges of reckless endangerment and hindering prosecution, were dropped in exchange for her plea.
On March 19, 2021, at approximately 7:51 a.m., Upper Providence Police responded to a reported shooting inside a residence on Larchwood Court. Responding officers found 12-year-old Jasiyah Vasquez lying on the living room with a single gunshot wound to her chest.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
An investigation was then launched, which determined that Daisy Vasquez had asked her 13-year-old son Jah’sir to go outside and retrieve her legally owned 9mm handgun from her vehicle. Police said that they also viewed the in-home surveillance footage, which showed Jah’sir reentering the home, pointing the firearm as Jasiyah and discharging a single round, which struck the girl in the chest and caused her to collapse.
Later that day, Jah’sir was charged as an adult with third-degree murder and related offenses in connection with the death of his sister.
“The death of this girl is a tragedy, but it could have been prevented. A pivotal aspect is the mother asking her child to go outside to the driveway to retrieve her handgun from the car — a handgun that had a bullet chambered and ready to shoot,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, in the wake of the incident. “A parent has a legal responsibility to protect their children, and a handgun owner has a legal responsibility to keep their guns out of the hands of children. This defendant failed on both counts. Now a young girl is dead, and a boy is facing murder charges.”
Earlier this year, the murder charges against Jah’sir were reduced to involuntary manslaughter, and the case was transferred from adult court to juvenile court, according to a report by WFMZ. Jah’sir admitted to involuntary manslaughter in the death of his sister, and was subsequently sentenced to probation with the stipulations that he perform community service, undergo anger management counseling and a prohibition on seeing his mother.
See also:
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Telford Man Who Attacked Sister After Discovering She Was Dating a Black Man Sentenced to Probation
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