DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A DeKalb County man has pleaded guilty in the 2023 death of his 7-year-old son, who was killed by a gun left unsecured inside a car.

What we know:

Dante Lamar Daugherty, 44, entered the plea Thursday to one count of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree cruelty to children. The plea follows the death of his son , Z’ayre Daugherty, on Sept. 4, 2023.

Police said Z’ayre was shot in the head while sitting in the back seat of an SUV outside a gas station in Lithonia.

The backstory:

Investigators said Daugherty pulled up to a pump at a station on Rock Chapel Road just before 6:10 p.m. that day. He briefly went inside, leaving his two sons in the vehicle. Before exiting, he removed a handgun from his waistband, wrapped it in a cloth and placed it under

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