DIGHTON (WBZ-AM) -- A Rehoboth 18-year-old was arraigned Wednesday on involuntary manslaughter charges in the shooting death of another teen. Joseph Medeiros was ordered held without bail, and will be back in court on July 3 for a dangerousness hearing.
Medeiros was allegedly handling an illegal gun he had just purchased when it went off, hitting his friend Michael Pacheco in the chest. The two were sitting at Pacheco's kitchen table in Dighton. Medeiros says the shooting was an accident. Prosecutor Robert D'Giantamoso says that, 20 minutes before the shooting, Pacheco told Medeiros to put the gun away.
"He was playing with it at the kitchen table," D'Giantamoso said. "Pacheco, the deceased, said 'Hey, what are you doing? Put it away.' This defendant complies, puts it away, and then 20 minutes later, pulls it out again. As he manipulates it at this point, he said I was racking the gun and pulled the trigger at the same time and fired the shot."
One shot discharged from the Glock 9mm pistol, hitting Pacheco in the upper chest, D'Giantamoso said. Another friend who was at the house told police Medeiros was playing with the gun. Initially, Medeiros fled the scene and threw the gun into the woods. He later turned himself in to police.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports