Vt man gets year in jail for prank death of friend - NEWS10 ABC: Albany, New York News, Weather, Sports

Vt man gets year in jail for prank death of friend

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BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) - A 25-year-old Vermont man is going to jail for a year after pleading guilty to charges he shot his best friend to death with what he had thought was an air gun.

Nicholas Bell of Manchester pleaded no contest in May to charges of manslaughter, simple assault with a weapon and reckless endangerment for the Nov. 25, 2010 death of 24-year-old Jeffrey Charbonneau. He was sentenced Tuesday.

Police say Bell and Charbonneau were staying at the home of a mutual friend when Bell shot Charbonneau in the chest as he slept with what he mistakenly thought was an air gun. The weapon turned out to be a loaded .22 caliber rifle.

The Bennington Banner says that in court Tuesday Bell apologized to Charbonneau's family.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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