Sunday, September 28, 2008

Palladium-Item (IN)
Gunshot wound puts teen on life support
Family gathers around bedside of 'most helpful person'
BY MICHELLE MANCHIR • STAFF WRITER • September 26, 2008

A 16-year-old Richmond youth described by family as "the most helpful person" remained Thursday evening on life support at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

Police say Corey A. Smith, 16, 809 N. 18th St., suffered a self-inflicted gunshot to his head.

His cousin, LaTosha Deloney, 23, of Richmond said Thursday afternoon several of the teen's friends and family members were at his bedside.

"We've got a hospital full of kids (to see him)," she said.

Smith,a junior at Richmond High School, was holding a .32-caliber revolver when it fired around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at 515 S. Eighth St., police said.

"From what we've been able to find it was just ... horseplay more than anything," said Lt. Brad Berner of the Richmond Police Department. "We don't think he intended to do anything. He was just playing around with it ... thinking it wasn't going to fire. According to a witness he fired once and it didn't go off."

Berner discounted initial reports indicating Smith might have been playing Russian roulette, a potentially lethal parlay situation in which participants place a single round inside a revolver, spin the cylinder and pull the trigger. Police are continuing to investigate the events leading to the accidental shooting, and also attempting to determine how Smith obtained the handgun.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

The Tunica Times (MS)
Shooting ruled accidental
Peter Thomas 25.SEP.08

The Tunica community is still reeling over the accidental death of a local teen on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Just before midnight, Tunica County sheriff�s deputies found 17-year-old Patrick Davis of 760 Monroe Alley lying near the playground at Academy Estates with a single gunshot wound to the head. EMS and Tunica First Responders were unable to resuscitate the victim. Tunica County Coroner Glenn Grant was called to the scene.

Although rumors quickly began to spread that the shooting may have been the result of several youth playing Russian Roulette, officials made no comment on those allegations.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

WYFF4.com
Verdict Reached In 'Russian Roulette' Trial
Cannon Found Guilty Of Involuntary Manslaughter
POSTED: 3:18 pm EDT September 24, 2008
UPDATED: 5:51 pm EDT September 24, 2008

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A jury has reached a verdict in the case of a teen who killed his girlfriend in what deputies described as a game of "Russian roulette gone wrong."



Phillip Cannon was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Kelly Kimbrell's death. He was also found guilty of pointing and presenting a firearm. The jury could have found him guilty of murder, but that conviction would have required proof of malice aforethought.

Cannon was sentenced to two years in prison for use of a weapon under the influence, but he was given credit for the 11 months he has already served, so he faces a total of at least 13 months in prison.

[ Earlier ]

Saturday, September 20, 2008

KTEN.com (OK)
Russian roulette death leads to plea
Associated Press - September 20, 2008 8:45 AM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An Oklahoma City man has received a 5-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to killing his cousin in a game of Russian roulette.

Nineteen-year-old Chase Dillon Erickson pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree manslaughter as part of a plea agreement with Oklahoma County prosecutors. He also will be on probation for another 10 years after his release.

Erickson originally was charged with second-degree murder in the Oct. 3 death of 25-year-old Joseph Welch.

Welch died shortly after Erickson shot him in the head.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Man in suspected Russian Roulette shooting dies
Ukiah Daily Journal Staff
Article Last Updated: 09/10/2008 12:01:50 AM PDT

The Daily Journal

A 46-year-old Sacramento man, believed to have shot himself last week during what a witness called an act of Russian Roulette, died Friday in a Sonoma County hospital.

According to a Tuesday Mendocino County Sheriff's Office report, an autopsy determined that Raymond Harold Gage died from a brain injury caused by "a close contact gunshot wound to the right temporal region of his head."

The Sheriff's Office has classified Gage's death as a suicide, based on information from interviews, physical evidence and the autopsy.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Friday, September 5, 2008

Friend: Man shot himself playing Russian roulette
By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Friday, September 5, 2008 at 8:12 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 5, 2008 at 8:32 a.m.

A friend told authorities Raymond Harrold Gage was taking a break in the heat of the day from a construction project near Potter Valley when he unexpectedly pulled out a loaded revolver and engaged in a quick game of Russian roulette.

Whatever the events leading to the Wednesday shooting in Mendocino County, the result is likely to prove fatal for Gage, a Sacramento man.

Gage, 46, is not expected to survive the gunshot wound to his head, Mendocino County sheriff’s Capt. Kurt Smallcomb said.

Gage had been staying with his friend on some property near the Mendocino-Lake county line for about three weeks, helping to construct a building of some sort, authorities said.

The two men were taking a break at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday when the .38-caliber revolver came out and Gage reportedly shot himself, authorities said.

He was immediately unresponsive, and the friend called 911 with a cell phone, then provided what first aid he could while awaiting emergency medics, they said.

[ Ukiah Daily Journal ]
[ Update 9/7 ]