MARQUETTE — Randy James Tuominen, the Gwinn man who faced a count of homicide-felony murder and two counts of first-degree child abuse in relation to the September death of his infant son, accepted a plea deal Wednesday.

Tuominen agreed to plead no contest to the charge of second-degree homicide at a hearing held in the 25th Circuit Court with Judge Jennifer Mazzuchi presiding. The initial charges were dismissed as part of the agreement.

Due to Tuominen’s plea deal, he will avoid a jury trial that was scheduled for June 10.

Because he pleaded no contest to second-degree homicide, he could be sentenced to “life or any number of years in prison” with parole eligibility, as opposed to the mandatory life without parole sentence for a felony homicide murder conviction that could have potentially occurred in a jury trial, according to Michigan Compiled Laws.

Tuominen had been charged with the three felonies by the Marquette County Prosecutor’s Office after a monthlong investigation into the death of Tuominen’s 4-month-old infant, which was discovered when emergency personnel were dispatched to a report of an unresponsive infant in Gwinn on Sept. 29.

The incident was jointly investigated by the Forsyth Township Police Department, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Child Protective Services and the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office, which submitted a report to the Marquette County Prosecutor’s Office for review, police said previously.

After the charges were issued, Tuominen was lodged at the Marquette County Jail without incident, officials said.

He was bound over to circuit court Dec. 3 after a district court preliminary examination, in which he alleged the death of the infant was the result of Tuominen accidentally falling on the child.

However, expert witnesses testified at the preliminary exam that they did not believe the injuries sustained by the infant could have been caused in the manner described by Tuominen.

Tuominen is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 2 in circuit court and remains lodged in the Marquette County Jail.

Cecilia Brown can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248.