NEWPORT BEACH : Father Charged in Girl’s Fatal Shooting

A Costa Mesa man was charged Monday with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting death last week of his 15-year-old daughter.

David Curtis Stinson, 39, of Costa Mesa did not enter a plea during his brief appearance at Harbor Municipal Court. He is expected to enter a plea Friday when the arraignment continues.

Police said the shooting occurred Thursday evening at the Stinsons’ apartment in the 3100 block of Coral Avenue.

Stinson’s daughter, Collister, was shot in the neck, apparently while he was cleaning or checking a gun as the two talked in his room, police said.

Police said Stinson, a warehouse supervisor, apparently had been drinking before the incident.

During Monday’s proceedings, Judge Craig E. Robison reduced Stinson’s bail from $250,000 to $25,000 upon the request of his attorney, Deputy Public Defender James Spellman, who had asked that bail be lowered to $2,500.

Dressed in a white prison jumper, Stinson was solemn throughout the proceedings. He quietly answered Robison’s questions from the inside of a plexiglass-enclosed area and only glanced briefly at his mother and two sisters who sat toward the front of the courtroom.

“We took it pretty hard,” said Stinson’s mother, Anne, after the proceedings. “I just can’t believe what happened. It’s like a bad dream. I just hope it works out for him.”

The penalty for involuntary manslaughter is usually two to four years in prison, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Pear said. However, because a firearm was involved, Stinson could face nine years in prison if he is convicted, Pear said.