Man who left kids alone with guns accessible before boy was shot in face sentenced to 5 years

A St. Paul man has been sentenced in connection to a shooting at a St. Paul apartment that left an 11-year-old critically hurt.

Martinez Castillo Lloyd was sentenced to serve five years in prison, with credit served for 36 days. Lloyd was charged in April of last year with illegal gun possession and negligent storage of a gun following the incident.

Prosecutors say that Lloyd’s children and several of their friends — ranging in age from 10 to 13 — were at his apartment in the 800 block of Pierce Butler Route on March 29, 2024. After about 30 minutes, Lloyd left and went to a store, leaving the kids by themselves.

Charging documents state that, after Lloyd left, his son and niece went into his room and grabbed two guns that he kept in an unlocked drawer in his room. The documents note that the kids said they’ve played with the guns a dozen times in the past year, including the weekend prior.

Lloyd later told police that he’d seen his kids play with his guns before and told them to put them back.

However, that night, while he was gone and the kids were playing with the guns, one of them went off and an 11-year-old boy was struck in the face.

Court documents note that the girl who was holding the gun at the time dropped it and then ran away, and Lloyd said he returned to the apartment when he saw police in the area.

Police recovered two guns from inside the apartment. Lloyd said he kept them for protection but is prohibited from having guns or ammunition due to a past felony conviction.