A 25-year-old man allegedly connected to the shooting of a 2-year-old boy at a housewarming party in Tacoma earlier this year has pleaded not guilty.

The man, Avery Lucas McDaniel, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Pierce County Superior Court. He has been charged with first-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Court commissioner Barbara McInvaille set his bail at $150,000.

McDaniel is one of two people connected to the March 31 shooting. The other is 20-year-old Keegan Marconi Bellotti, who is the alleged shooter. Bellotti was aiming to shoot a man he was fighting with, according to court documents, but the boy got caught in the crossfire and sustained a gunshot wound to the chest.

The boy suffered a broken rib and a lung injury, documents say, but he survived.

Shelbie Boyd, spokesperson for the Tacoma Police Department, told The News Tribune that McDaniel turned himself in on Tuesday, four days after police put out his picture with a reward for information leading to his arrest.

Police arrested Bellotti shortly after the shooting, and prosecutors charged with first-degree assault, possession of a stolen firearm and first-degree unlawfully possessing a stolen firearm during his arraignment in April.

The shooting occurred at about 11:28 p.m. in the 2300 block of 96th Street South, The News Tribune previously reported.

According to court documents, Bellotti's sister told officers she had seen Bellotti and his friend, McDaniel, running through the parking lot of the apartment complex immediately after the shot was fired. She pointed to a man in the parking lot and said he was the intended victim.

Police interviewed the man in the parking lot, documents say, who said he was an acquaintance of the apartment's residents and came to their housewarming party. He said he was sitting next to the front door at the time of the shooting, and the 2-year-old boy was nearby.

The child's mother told police she was there to attend a friend's housewarming party with her son, documents say. She said she went to the children's room, where she ran into Bellotti's sister.

"[The mother] stated that [his sister's] demeanor was off, and she asked her what was wrong," documents say. "[His sister] stated that her brother, Keegan Bellotti had gang-related issues with another male at the party. Keegan Bellotti advised her that he was going to come and shoot up the party."

The boy's mother told police she left the apartment and was outside, holding her son's hand, when she heard a shot, documents say. She allegedly ran back into the apartment and hid in the closet with her son, where she saw that he was bleeding from a gunshot wound.

Bellotti's girlfriend picked up Bellotti and McDaniel after the shooting, documents say, and dropped McDaniel off at his residence in University Place before taking Bellotti to her residence. The couple then fled, and police used the app Life360 to track Bellotti's location and arrest him.

The girlfriend allegedly told police that Bellotti and McDaniel had issues with her cousin, and she had driven them to the housewarming party so they could fight him.

Bellotti is a convicted felon who is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms, court documents say. Police found two guns in his car, with one of them having previously been reported stolen.

Bellotti's arraignment was on April 2, where he was charged with first-degree assault, possession of a stolen firearm and first-degree unlawfully possessing a stolen firearm. He also has bench warrants from 2025 in Thurston County Superior Court for first-degree assault, unlawful possession of a firearm, felony harassment, fourth-degree assault, aiming and discharging a firearm and reckless endangerment.

His bail was set at $200,000. His trial is scheduled to begin next month.

The court issued a bench warrant for McDaniel's arrest on June 11, according to court records. On July 23, Crime Stoppers of Tacoma-Pierce County posted his picture on Facebook, asking the public for help and offering a reward of up to $1,000 for McDaniel's arrest.

McDaniel turned himself in on July 27.