Grandfather jailed for leaving 5-year-old with loaded gun in Arizona desert

A 54-year-old Arizona man was sentenced to six months in jail for child abuse for leaving his granddaughter, 5, in the desert with a loaded and cocked handgun with the instruction to “shoot any bad guys,” prosecutors said.

Paul Armand Rater pleaded guilty to one count of felony child abuse under a plea agreement stemming from the November, 2015, incident, county attorney Bill Montgomery said.

“There still has been no satisfactory explanation for why that happened,” said Mr Montgomery at a news conference.

Authorities said the girl was reported missing by family members four hours after Rater took her for a spin in his new pickup truck.

The girl was found holding a 45-caliber pistol during a search of the area by her mother and an off-duty firefighter, court records stated.

She told detectives she had been told to “shoot any bad guys”, and added, “I don’t know why papa left me”.

Rater was located at a store and he admitted to leaving the girl under a tree with his gun after his vehicle apparently had broken down and he left to seek help.

He then proceeded to go into an establishment where he had drinks and a cheeseburger, court records showed.

In addition to the jail time, Rater was also sentenced to 10 years probation.