Credit: FBI
A teenager who admitted to accidentally shooting his best friend to death entered a guilty plea to charges of involuntary manslaughter today.
Hector Echevarria, 19, softly said the word “guilty,” as family members looked on at the hearing this morning.
Echevarria is currently free on bail. He has taken full responsibility for the shooting death of Bill Hopkins, 19, who was reportedly Echevarria’s best friend.
Echevarria was holding a shotgun on Jan. 21 inside his Olney home near the intersection of Mascher Street and Tabor Avenue, which the two teenagers were examining when the gun accidentally went off, striking Hopkins in the chest. Hopkins was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 25.
Judge Benjamin Lerner told attorneys that at this time he has “no idea” what Echevarria’s sentence will be on the involuntary manslaughter charge.
