DECATUR, Ill. (AP) – A 20-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a 12-year-old central Illinois boy.
Twenty-year-old Avante M. Flesch of Decatur entered the plea Wednesday. The (Decatur) Herald & Review reports he’s being held at the Macon County Jail in lieu of posting $100,000 bond.
Decatur police have said Flesch told investigators he was playing with a handgun when it accidentally fired and fatally wounded Marqueius Gray on Nov. 12. He said he found the gun lying on a couch and removed its magazine before it accidentally discharged.
Authorities say the boy suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead while undergoing surgery at a hospital.
