photo by: Mike Yoder

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th St.

A Lawrence man charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his 1-year-old daughter has been released from jail and given a date to make his first appearance in court.

Chance M. Smith, 32, was arrested on the charges Friday at his home. He posted $10,000 bond, jail records show, and he is now scheduled to appear in court June 29, according to Cheryl Wright Kunard, assistant to Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson.

His case has been assigned to Douglas County District Court Judge Paula Martin, court records indicate.

photo by: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

Chance M. Smith

The shooting happened about 10:30 a.m. Sept. 22, 2017, at the Smith family’s home in the 600 block of North Michigan Street. Autumn Grace Smith, who died at the scene, was about a month away from her second birthday.

Smith is charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter for allegedly “recklessly” killing the child, a felony, according to a complaint filed May 14 and released to the Journal-World by the DA’s office following Smith’s arrest. The complaint also charges him with two counts of aggravated endangering a child for allegedly causing or permitting two children — one was Autumn, the other an unnamed 2-year-old — in a situation where their life or health was endangered.

Lawrence police have never disclosed and charges do not make clear any circumstances surrounding the shooting, including whether anyone — adult or child — was handling the gun when it fired. In a news release the day of the shooting, police said only that the shooting was believed to be accidental.

The DA’s office, via the email from Wright Kunard, also declined to answer more questions Monday, or comment on the office’s charging decision in the serious and sensitive case.

The Journal-World has requested the affidavit in support of Smith’s arrest from the court. In Kansas, such documents, prepared by police, outline evidence gathered by law enforcement in criminal cases and are released at the discretion of judges.