Posted: 2/26/2008 10:30:22 PM EDT
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Not the kind of press we need, But I was wondering if this is one of us by any chance. Man, 19, charged with killing best friend with AK-47 By Amie Jo Schaenzer Gannett Wisconsin Media FOND DU LAC -- A 19-year-old Brandon man said he was “screwing around” with an AK-47 when he cocked the assault rifle, pointed it at his best friend and pulled the trigger. A charge filed today in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court begins the felony case for Evan Tolsma, who is accused of killing Jason Perry, 18, when he accidentally shot him in the head during the early morning hours of Feb. 20. Tolsma told police he didn’t know the gun was loaded, according to the criminal complaint filed in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court. The shooting occurred at 53 WaWa Ave. in Ripon, where Tolsma and Perry had been hanging out at the home of their 20-year-old friend, Aron Leber, the complaint said. If convicted of homicide by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon as charged, Tolsma could face up to 10 years in prison. Tolsma remains in custody, but it is unknown at this point when he will make an initial court appearance. Perry, of Omro, was Tolsma’s best friend and the two had attended Ripon High School together. Perry graduated from the school in 2007. Perry was attending Fox Valley Technical College and worked at Festival Foods in Oshkosh, according to his obituary. His sister, Nicole Perry, lives in Fond du Lac, and their parents, William and Chris Perry, live in Omro. On the night of the incident, Tolsma arrived at the WaWa Avenue home at about 11 p.m. after working that night, according to the complaint. Perry and Leber were already at the Ripon residence. The three had a couple of drinks, ate some pizza and were checking out some guns that belonged to Leber’s father and were kept in the home. “(We) were all laughing and having a good time,” Tolsma told police. He said he had two mixed drinks prior to the shooting. The three were also “screwing around” with some guns kept in the home, including a G3, also an assault rifle, a 9mm handgun and the AK-47, according to the complaint. Leber’s father collected guns, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Michael O’Rourke told The Reporter. The AK-47 was stored in a locked gun cabinet. It was a new gun, Leber told police, purchased by the father a couple of days before the shooting. Leber told police that he had removed the gun prior to his friends arriving and set it up in the dining room and took a picture of it, according to the complaint. He also told police he’d unloaded the rifle, cleared its chamber and removed its clip. He also stated he’d told his friends not to touch the gun because it was loaded, according to the complaint. Leber said he was mixing a drink when he heard the gun go off around 1:45 a.m. Feb. 20. He turned around and saw Perry fall and “knew that he was dead,” according to the criminal complaint. He saw Tolsma drop the gun. Tolsma told police he did not think the AK-47 was loaded when he pointed it at Perry. He said Perry was looking straight at him when he pulled the trigger, according to the complaint. Tolsma told police he went to his friend, turned him over and was trying to find where the bullet had gone in, according to the complaint. Tolsma was screaming when Leber called to request an ambulance, according to the complaint. Perry was pronounced dead at the scene. The shooting, O’Rourke said, was accidental. |
Must have been a loaded clip and he accidently loaded a bullet before removing the clip..... 
| You forgot the fact that it was probably loaded with big pointy bullets 3 inches long designed to pierce armor and explode on impact LINK |
A VERY Powerfull Fully Automatic Russian SKS Military Assault Rifle!!!!! OMG!!!!! Those video analists are simply spectacular!! 3 inch long pointy armor piercing exploding Cop Killer Bullets!!!!! ZOMG!!! ZOMG!!! Help us Nancy Pelosi...... you're our only hope!!!! 
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The three had a couple of drinks, ate some pizza and were checking out some guns that belonged to Leber’s father and were kept in the home. when are people going to learn guns and alchohol dont mix? cleared its chamber and removed its clip Kinda did that out of order to unload the weapon At least they were over 16 years old and the owner shouldnt be charged |
no harm was intended, plus he's in a mental hospital right now..|
I wouldn't be surprised to see him get probation. I don't think society is served by him doing jail time, but he can't just walk away either. He will have to live with killing his friend for the rest of his life. If he has a soul, living with that will be the worst punishment possible. |
Why does everyone 'deserve' some prison time? I think some crimes that happen out of the ordinary or even blatant stupidity, hold their greatest punishment within the mind of the 'criminal'. It is all a matter of state of mind of the 'criminal' when the act takes place. Was it intentional or not? Was the person being stupid and disobeyed other laws in the process (underage drinking, drugs, etc.)? Most important, was the person sorry and will they regret what they did for the rest of their life, not becasue of reduced liberties but because of the situation that transpired? I think those are the questions that should be asked, not just send them off to jail, because everyone that does something wrong needs to go there. I think the whole situation reeked of an accident with the known details of the case. |
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When I was in high school, we were drinking at a friends house when he decided to take his cop stepdad's 9mm out of the closet and point it at everybody laughing. I almost shit myself! I had never owned a gun but knew this was not cool. We all yelled at him and a buddy (who was around guns all his life) grabbed it out of his hands. Did I mention that the moron with the gun pointed it at his head and tried pulling the trigger saying "the clip isn't in it so it's not loaded!" ? Anyway my buddy pulled back the slide and a round flew out on the floor. Everyone there wanted to kick his ass. I still thank God that the safety was on because he is a good friend to this day. Just a stupid kid that was never taught anything about guns or allowed to touch one. Funny how the kids that are brought up around guns/hunting and are taught properly don't seem to do stupid shit when they get their hands on one. |
I agree with leniency but disagree with your take on the situation. There was NO ACCIDENT in this case. He pointed the weapon at another person's head and deliberately squeezed the trigger causing a negligent discharge which resulted in a fatality. He committed a criminal act. The DA is being lenient though. He could have gotten 25 years, but he is charging him with a lesser crime. I agree that it wasn't intentional so shouldn't be treated as though it was. My cousin shot his 3 year old brother unintentionally with a .22LR rifle and he died. I would have hated for him to go to prison for that...... |
I think you misread or I mistyped: I didn't mean to imply an actual accident versus intentional, I was saying with the whole situation it was an unfortunate event resulting especially from carelessness or ignorance. Hopefully that clears it up. |