Negligent brother jailed over child shooting death

A US man has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the accidental shooting death of his five-year-old adoptive brother.

New Jersey prosecutors said 24-year-old Jalik Jones of Paterson left a loaded gun accessible to the boy and his six-year-old brother in December 2009.

Jones is a convicted felon who illegally acquired the .380-calibre handgun and kept it in the bedroom at his mother’s house.

The boys found the gun and were playing with it when the older boy accidentally shot his younger sibling once in the head.

Jones was sentenced after previously pleading guilty to reckless manslaughter and weapons charges.