Vinson, 22, also faces three counts of aggravated child abuse
Credit: Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
NEED TO KNOW
- America’s Got Talent alum Deshundre Vinson has been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in connection with his nephew’s drowning death
- Surveillance footage of the incident allegedly showed the 4-year-old struggling in a pool for nine minutes before being pulled out unconscious
- Vinson, who gained fame with Citi Limitz on America’s Got Talent, was babysitting the child at the time of the incident
Former America’s Got Talent contestant Deshundre Vinson has been arrested.
Vinson, 22, was arrested in Tennessee on Wednesday, Sept. 2, after being charged with first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated child abuse, according to Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) inmate records viewed by PEOPLE.
His bond has been set at $750,000.
The arrest stems from an incident involving a 4-year-old who drowned at a Central Avenue apartment swimming pool in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Sunday, Aug. 16, according to local outlets WTVC, WDEF and Chattanoogan.com.
Credit: Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
Officers with the Chattanooga Police Department (CPD) had responded to the apartment complex on a separate incident at approximately 5:40 p.m., when they heard screaming from the pool area and found CPR in progress on a 4-year-old boy, per the Chattanoogan.
Officers noted that the child appeared to have been unconscious and pulled out of the swimming pool, per the outlet. The boy was transported to a hospital and remained in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for approximately five days before he died.
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Surveillance footage obtained by police of the pool area showed the young boy walking from the center edge of the pool into deeper water while holding on to the edge. He appeared to slip and struggle before going underwater, WTVC and the Chattanoogan reported.
As seen in the video, per the outlets, the child had been underwater for approximately nine minutes before someone spotted him, pulled him from the water and began CPR on him.
An investigation from the CPD found that the child had been Vinson’s nephew, and the musician had been babysitting him that day, alongside the child’s 6-year-old brother and other children, per the Chattanoogan. The outlet also reported that Vinson also allowed the boy and his brother to walk approximately 0.2 miles to the apartment pool with no adult supervision.
Investigators also discovered that Vinson exchanged messages with the 4-year-old’s mother acknowledging the lack of supervision and his delayed response in the drowning, WTVC and the Chattanoogan reported.
PEOPLE reached out to the Chattanooga Police Department for comment on Saturday, Sept. 5, but did not receive an immediate response.
Vinson gained national acclaim as part of the trio Citi Limitz, an R&B group who appeared on shows like America’s Got Talent and The Ellen Degeneres Show.
Vinson’s next court date is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8.
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