WAUPACA, WI (WSAU) – A 17-year-old who accidentally shot and killed his friend has been found guilty of reckless homicide. Austin Hovarter was in court yesterday as part of a plea bargain in the death of Jacob Peglow. Judge Troy Nielsen found him guilty and ordered a sentencing hearing for Mach 19.
Last July Hovarter was playing cops and robbers at his family’s home when he pulled the trigger on his father’s handgun.
Hovarter’s younger brother was in the home at the time, and told police that the gun was normally kept unloaded in a safe. He also said that Hovarter had pulled the gun’s trigger during horseplay on other occasions and it had always been unloaded.
Hovarter is free on bond while a pre-sentencing investigation is conducted. He could get 60-years in prison.
