Angelo Ray, 18, is charged with the involuntary manslaughter of his girlfriend, Izabella Bella Raquedan-Retuta, after a judge ruled the shooting was likely accidental. Judge Thomas Stevens expressed challenges in finding evidence for wantonness and stated Ray acted without conscious disregard for Raquedan-Retuta's life. Following the preliminary hearing, Ray was released on bail with conditions. Prosecutors re-filed murder charges, arguing that Ray exhibited reckless behavior by not securing the weapon properly, despite claiming the shot was accidental during their interaction.
At the preliminary hearing, Judge Thomas Stevens sided with a defense theory that the shooting was accidental and ordered Angelo Ray to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter, not murder.
Stevens expressed difficulty in finding evidence of wantonness, stating, "I have struggled to find evidence that the defendant, who deeply cared for Bella, deliberately acted with conscious disregard for her life."
Prosecutors argue that Ray's behavior demonstrated reckless disregard for human life, stating he had a duty to minimize the dangers brought onto the victim and her family.
Ray claimed the shot was fired accidentally while his girlfriend was handing him the loaded weapon and that he was unaware it was loaded.
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