The mother of a 14-year-old boy accused in the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old Alliance girl has been charged with tampering with evidence, according to court records.
Erin Barker, 47, was arrested the evening of June 19 and charged with one count of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, in Alliance Municipal Court. She remained in the Stark County Jail as of Sunday and is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, June 22, at 2:30 p.m.
The charge stems from the same incident that claimed the life of Kennedy Wise, 15, on Friday afternoon.
Alliance police were dispatched around 4:18 p.m. June 19 to the 600 block of West Summit Street for a reported shooting. When officers arrived, they found Wise suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 14-year-old boy was taken into custody and charged with involuntary manslaughter. Jordan Miller News has also chosen not to identify the juvenile suspect due to his age and the ongoing nature of the case.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Alliance Municipal Court, Barker allegedly tampered with evidence connected to the shooting by returning a Glock 19 pistol to a West Summit Street residence after it had been used in the incident.
The complaint alleges the firearm was removed from the scene by Barker’s son, who told her the shooting was a suicide. Investigators allege Barker later returned the gun to the residence but did not tell responding officers that she had done so.
Court records state the juvenile later admitted that Wise’s shooting was accidental and was not a suicide.
Police previously said the victim and suspect were acquaintances. Additional details about the circumstances leading up to the shooting have not been publicly released.
The Alliance Police Department and the Stark County Coroner’s Office continue to investigate.
The charge against Barker is an allegation, and she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
