[chris]

A 3-year-old Raleigh boy was killed on Christmas Eve in 2008 after getting hold of his father's handgun inside a southeast Raleigh home, and his father was later convicted in the death, according to police and North Carolina court records.

Officers found Pharell Hinton dead of a gunshot wound just before midnight on Dec. 24 at a house on Ujamaa Drive, WRAL reported. Investigators said the boy had somehow reached a gun that discharged and killed him.

Police charged the child's father, Eric Eugene Hinton, 26, with involuntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was arrested the next morning and held on $100,000 bond.

Neighbors told WRAL that the home belonged to Hinton's mother and that he often brought his children there to visit. The archived 911 recording from the case opens with a brother of the boy calling for help before Hinton takes over the phone and speaks with the dispatcher.

Hinton was convicted on July 10, 2009, of involuntary manslaughter, possession of a firearm by a felon and a misdemeanor count of failing to store the gun safely from a minor, according to North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records.

Hinton was legally prohibited from owning a firearm because of a prior felony record. WRAL reported that he had previous arrests on larceny, trespassing, stolen-goods and drug charges and had served six months in jail in 2006.