Jerald Ray Joseph Aplon
Introduction
Jerald Ray Joseph Aplon, a Dallas man previously convicted of a felony, has been arrested and charged by federal criminal complaint with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, after his three-year-old child was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound at his Dallas residence on 11 October 2026 . Aplon, the child’s father, was arrested on Monday 9 November and made his initial appearance in federal court days later . The charge is an allegation, and Aplon is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law .
Background Information
Per the criminal complaint, on 11 October Dallas Police Department officers responded to an apartment on Wadsworth Drive, where Dallas Fire Rescue pronounced a three-year-old child deceased from a gunshot wound to the head . During an interview with investigators, Aplon stated that he owned a Canik 9mm semi-automatic pistol and an AR-style rifle, and admitted that he kept both weapons loaded and unsecured inside the residence — specifically noting that the 9mm pistol was kept with a round in the chamber inside an unlocked stool beside his bed . The complaint alleges Aplon was convicted of felony theft in Denton County, Texas, in September 2023, and that the pistol was not manufactured in Texas and therefore traveled in interstate or foreign commerce before he possessed it .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged, not convicted. A complaint alleges the convicted felon possessed the unsecured pistol allegedly linked to his three-year-old child’s death.
Detectives executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered the Canik 9mm pistol inside the bedroom stool; the firearm was jammed with a spent 9mm casing caught in the slide, and an RF-15 multi-caliber rifle was recovered from a closet . A subsequent examination by the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office indicated that the child sustained a close-contact gunshot wound that was allegedly caused by Aplon’s unsecured Canik 9mm pistol . Federal law prohibits anyone previously convicted of a felony from possessing firearms or ammunition — the basis of the federal charge against him . If convicted, Aplon faces up to 15 years in federal prison .
Public Reaction and Consequences
US Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas said: “Leaving a loaded firearm within reach of small children is unconscionable… This defendant had no legal right to possess firearms because he was a convicted felon. Because of this defendant’s recklessness, a child is now dead. We cannot undo this family’s heartbreak, but we will bring the full weight of the law against anyone who endangers our children” . ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Brian W. Garner called it “a devastating and preventable tragedy that has forever changed a family’s life” . The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Nadin-Sarah Salkić of the Violent Crimes Section .
Current Status
Aplon is charged but not convicted: the case is pending as a criminal complaint in the Northern District of Texas, with the gun charge carrying up to 15 years’ imprisonment . The ATF and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation, and the complaint’s allegations — including the prior felony conviction and the pistol’s path in interstate commerce — remain to be proven .
Impact on Their Career/Life
The announced consequence of keeping a loaded pistol with a round chambered in an unlocked bedside stool is a federal prosecution that portrays Aplon, a felon barred from possessing any firearm, as the reason a three-year-old child is dead — a case the Justice Department is publicizing as a warning about unsecured weapons in homes with children .
Sources
- “Previously convicted felon charged with federal gun violation after fatal shooting of 3-year-old child” — US Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Texas / justice.gov, November 2026: source