Overview
- Jurors returned not guilty verdicts Thursday, clearing Driver of involuntary manslaughter and four counts of child endangering.
- The case arose from an Oct. 22, 2023 shooting in Youngstown in which 7-year-old De’Vonte Driver was fatally wounded by a handgun found in the home.
- Prosecutors argued Driver knew a loaded 9mm was present and left it where children could access it, urging the jury to hold her accountable.
- Driver testified the pistol belonged to her brother, that she pushed it out of sight behind a large television, and that she believed it was out of reach.
- Evidence presented included police body-camera video from the rescue attempt and coroner testimony describing a close-range, rapidly fatal wound.