RODNEY VANHORN - 3 yo (11/14) - / Charged: Ramona Braswell - St Petersburg, FL

St. Pete woman accused of shocking boy, 3, with stun gun

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By WFLA.com web staff

Ramona Braswell, 30, was charged with felony child abuse. Pinellas Co. Jail booking photo

Ramona Braswell, 30, was charged with felony child abuse.

The stun gun that police say was used on the boy. St. Pete Police photo

The alleged incident happened at a home on 5th St. in St. Pete.

Police say Rodney Vanhorn was shocked with a stun gun. Family photo


ST. PETERSBURG, FL. (WFLA) -


A St. Petersburg woman is charged with felony child abuse after police say she used a stun gun on a 3-year-old boy.

Police responded to the home at 4:15 p.m. on Nov. 29 after the boy's mother called saying he'd been shocked in the arm by another woman who also lives at the home.

The mother told the officers that she was another room of the house when she heard her son cry out from the area of the living room.

When she went to check on him she found Ramona Braswell, 30, standing near her son holding a stun gun. Braswell was laughing and was activating the stun gun several times, but not touching the child.

Her son immediately told her that Braswell had shocked him on the arm and that it hurt. Braswell denied touching the child with the stun gun, but marks left on his left arm confirmed that contact had been made with his skin.

When questioned by police, Braswell continued to denied shocking the child, but did admit she was activating it near the boy and at one point placed the stun gun handle on his arm, but not the electrodes.

She said the stun gun belonged to a friend and she was just "playing" with the device.

Officers took Braswell into custody charging her with one count of felony child abuse. She was released from the Pinellas County Jail after posting $5,000 bond Saturday night, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

No information has been released regarding if the boy was injured


http://www.wfla.com/story/27515127/st-pete-woman-accused-of-shocking-boy-3-with-taser