Lansing Man Sentenced For Illegal Possession Of A Gun After Two Year Old Found The Gun And Killed Himself

Case Reflects Grim Reality: Gun Violence is Now the #1 Cause of Death for Kids

<_w3a_listitem listvalue="Choose an item."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="GRAND RAPIDS" datavalue="GRAND RAPIDS"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="MARQUETTE" datavalue="MARQUETTE">GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN - U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that Avis Coward, 44, of Lansing, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of firearms. Coward previously pleaded guilty to illegally possessing two guns. A two-year-old child found one of the guns in a car, suffered a gunshot wound and later died. Coward had previously been convicted of drug trafficking, carrying a concealed weapon, carjacking, and brandishing a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence.

"This two-year-old child is dead because Avis Coward flouted the law," said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. "And then - as if that was not enough - Coward attempted to hide his crime and evade justice." Totten continued: "This case painfully represents a grim statistic that hangs over the nation: gun violence is now the #1 cause of death for our youngest Americans, ages 0-19. None of us should get used to this new reality. My team and I will use every tool we have to punish criminals who put our kids in harm's way."

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Two other Lansing residents were also charged in the indictment. Emma Huver pleaded guilty to possessing a pistol that was in the car and was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison. Gina Schieberl pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 21.

On October 24, 2023, Coward got out of a car at a Lansing gas station and went inside, leaving a two-year-old child and the child's mother, Emma Huver, in the car. The child found Coward's gun while playing in the car, then shot and killed himself. Surveillance video showed a bullet hole appear in the car window a minute after Coward exited the vehicle. Huver got out of the car holding her child, who had blood on his face from the gunshot wound. As she did so, Coward's gun fell out of the car. Huver handed the child to Coward, who then passed the child to a third person who took the victim into the gas station and attempted to control the bleeding until medical personnel arrived. Coward returned to the car, picked up the gun off the ground, and put it back in the car. The surveillance video also showed Coward use his hand to break out the front passenger window, which had the bullet hole, in his first effort to destroy evidence. Coward then drove away. The child later died from his injuries.

While in jail, Coward made several phone calls in an attempt to further hide evidence. Police later found the car, which was found burned-out and abandoned in a field in Lansing, and the barrel of Coward's .45 caliber Springfield Armory semiautomatic pistol, which was hidden in the wall of a house in Lansing. The rest of the gun has not been recovered. Further details are available in the Government Response to Defendant's Sentencing Memorandum, which is attached to this press release.

"This tragedy occurred because an individual who was prohibited from owning a firearm illegally possessed one, leading to a devastating outcome," said Chief Rob Backus, Lansing Police Department. "Our thoughts are with the family affected by this loss. We appreciate U.S. Attorney Mark Totten and his team for their dedication in seeing this case through and ensuring accountability."

Gun violence is an acute problem across the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. firearm homicide rate in 2021 was the highest documented since 1993. While the numbers have declined since 2021, no level of violence is acceptable.

Resources and information on the safe storage of firearms can be found by reviewing the U.S. Department of Justice Safe Storage of Firearms guide, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fact sheet, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives pamphlet. Anyone who possesses a gun must follow all local, state, and federal laws.

This case was investigated by the Lansing Police Department, Michigan State Police, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

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