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Samuel Christopher Smith pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of his brother. (Provided / June 30, 2012) |
A man who was previously charged with second-degree murder for accidentally killing his brother will have his jail time suspended after accepting a plea deal on Friday.
As part of the agreement, Samuel Smith pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
Samuel Smith killed his brother when playing with a handgun he thought was unloaded. Since the guilty plea was accepted, Smith's 10 years of jail time have been suspended and he faces a $500 fine and two years of active probation. Additional charges of discharge of a firearm and reckless handling of a firearm were also dismissed.
"This is the second gun related accidental shooting death in a row involving family members our City has experienced. Playing with guns is dangerous and the public is reminded to handle firearms with extreme caution and never assume a gun is unloaded," Radford Commonwealth's Attorney Chris Rehak wrote in a press release.
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A plea deal in a case where a man accidentally killed his brother is expected to be announced Friday at 1 p.m. in Radford City Circuit Court, according to the Radford Commonwealth's Attorney.
Samuel Smith, the man originally charged with second-degree murder, is the brother of victim Travis Smith. Samuel was reportedly playing with a handgun he did not think was loaded when he pointed the weapon at Travis and pulled the trigger.
The Commonwealth consulted the victim’s family (also defendant’s) to make a plea offer. More details will be available after the plea is accepted.
Travis Smith died at the age of 25.
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Original story from June 30, 2012
A man is charged with murder after Radford police say he shot and killed a member of his own family.
Officers say they found Travis Smith dead at about 1 p.m. Saturday.
His body was in an apartment breezeway in the 200 block of Jeffries Street.
Samuel Smith is charged with second-degree murder.
He's being held at the New River Valley Regional Jail without bond.
It's still unclear how he and the victim are related.
