Judge hands down sentence in South Bend toddler’s killing

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – A northern Indiana judge has sentenced a teenager to community service for his role in the shooting death of a South Bend toddler.

The South Bend Tribune reports St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller sentenced 18-year-old Daniel Williams on Thursday to four years in community corrections, starting with a placement in work release, plus two years on probation. Williams pleaded guilty in June to two counts of assisting a criminal in connection with the April 2014 shooting death of 2-year-old John Swoveland Jr.

Police say the boy died when he was struck by a stray bullet from a gunfight between two rival gangs several blocks away.

Williams is one of eight men and teenagers charged in the toddler’s death. Six, including convicted gunman Robert Griffin, have been sentenced.