Mich. man gets 10-15 years in prison for shooting death of friend at Livingston County gun club

11/15/2013
ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOWELL, Mich. — A man has been sentenced to 10-15 years in prison for the shooting death of a friend at a Livingston County gun club.

The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus of Howell and WHMI-FM report 20-year-old Jessce Stearn received his punishment on Thursday in Livingston County Circuit Court after pleading to second-degree murder in an agreement with prosecutors.

Stearn was charged in the June 2012 death of 21-year-old Charles Kimball at the gun range in Brighton Township, about 35 miles northwest of Detroit.

Stearn told the court Thursday that it was a “preventable tragedy” and that he accepted responsibility for his actions.

He initially told investigators that the weapon discharged accidentally. Stearn was charged with murder after prosecutors said he told other inmates he shot Kimball because of a debt.