Monday, March 11, 2013

Man sentenced for unintentionally shooting and killing friend

23-year-old Gregory Shain, of Boise, Idaho, has been sentenced for unintentionally shooting and killing his friend, Gary Arlen, last March.
Shain and Arlen were at Arlen's house, goofing around, drinking beer and dry-firing a .45-caliber handgun. They took turns pointing the gun at each other and pulling the trigger.

Shain told police he was about to leave when Arlen told him to "do it" - place the gun in his mouth and pull the trigger. Unbeknownst to Shain, Arlen had replaced the empty magazine they had been using before with a magazine that had bullets. When Shain pulled the trigger the gun fired and severed Arlen's spinal cord, killing him instantly.
An autopsy revealed that Arlen had hydrocone in his system and a blood alcohol level of .18, more than twice the legal limit. Shain was not tested, but admitted to having a few beers that evening.
Before sentencing Shain, the judge said he was "satisfied this is an accidental shooting" but was shocked by Shain's recklessness. "This could have been avoided," he told Shain. "You made the decision to pull the trigger..you didn't clear the gun. You didn't make it safe."
Shain was sentenced to a year in jail and 10-years of felony probation.

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