Ortiz pleads guilty to accidental shooting

EPHRATA - A Moses Lake teen, who accidentally shot and killed a friend in November, will be sentenced as an adult on March 24.

Ismael Ortiz Jr., 17, pleaded guilty on March 4 to second-degree manslaughter in the death of Leoncio Garcia, 18, of Moses Lake.

During an adult court proceeding in November, Ortiz originally pleaded innocent to charges of manslaughter and illegal possession of a firearm, the Grant County Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday.

State law requires a juvenile of his age to be charged as an adult due to the serious nature of the crime. Prison time for second-degree manslaughter can range from 26 to 34 months.

Ortiz was reportedly playing Russian Roulette with a .22 caliber pistol Nov. 10 before it accidentally went off and killed Garcia at a home on Cascade Avenue in Moses Lake. Garcia was shot in the chest.

Ortiz and Garcia were close friends and lived together for about four months at the home where the shooting happened, court documents state.

Garcia later died from internal bleeding at Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane after being transferred from Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake.