Kirk Freeman
Grandmaster
The news from Tippecanoe County on the Purdue shooting last semester:
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Judge wants to hear from shooting victim's family | jconline.com | Journal and Courier
Judge wants to hear from shooting victim's family
By SOPHIA VORAVONG • svoravong@jconline.com • January 12, 2010
A former Purdue University student will be sentenced in March for his involvement in an alcohol-fueled prank and fatal shooting in August that killed a childhood friend.
William J. Calderon, 22, of Fort Wayne pleaded guilty Monday in Tippecanoe Superior Court 5 to pointing a firearm, a Class A misdemeanor.
Judge Les Meade declined to immediately accept the plea, noting that he felt family members of the victim, 21-year-old Landon Siela of Fort Wayne, deserved to have a say.
"You will have the right to be heard," Meade said to Landon Siela's father, Ron Siela, who was seated in the courtroom's gallery. "... Frankly, we need to save a good amount of time for this."
Ron Siela, of Fort Wayne, declined to comment after Monday's hearing.
The fatal shooting took place Aug. 22 at an apartment at 204 Wiggins St. in West Lafayette, near Purdue's campus. It was two days before classes began.
Calderon said he and his roommate, Cory S. Lynch, 23, had just moved in that weekend. Landon Siela, a student at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, was visiting.
Lynch, of Carmel, is accused of firing the fatal shot that struck Landon Siela in his throat. Lynch is charged in Tippecanoe Circuit Court with reckless homicide, criminal recklessness and pointing a firearm.
All counts against him are felonies. Lynch is tentatively scheduled to stand trial Feb. 2.
During Monday's hearing, Calderon said the three friends had spent much of Aug. 22 consuming beer and hard liquor. Calderon estimated having between 10 and 12 shots. He had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19 percent shortly after the shooting.
That day, the three had been playing with an airsoft gun, which shoots rubber pellets at low velocities.
For unclear reasons, Calderon said he and Lynch then decided to play a prank on Landon Siela by using real weapons. They came up with this plan while Landon Siela was outside.
Calderon grabbed and "cleared" a Springfield .45-caliber handgun, meaning the weapon was not loaded. That handgun belonged to Landon Siela, according to court documents.
Lynch then got hold of Calderon's Kimber .45-caliber handgun, which Calderon said he kept loaded in their apartment for protection.
Calderon told the court that he did not see Lynch clear the handgun before pointing it and pulling the trigger, fatally injuring Landon Siela. This occurred after Landon Siela had walked out of the bathroom.
He said Lynch knew the weapon was loaded because "we had both talked about it earlier in the day."
Under Calderon's plea agreement with the Tippecanoe County prosecutor's office, his sentence will be left up to Meade. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to 365 days in jail and a $5,000 fine
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Judge wants to hear from shooting victim's family | jconline.com | Journal and Courier
Judge wants to hear from shooting victim's family
By SOPHIA VORAVONG • svoravong@jconline.com • January 12, 2010
A former Purdue University student will be sentenced in March for his involvement in an alcohol-fueled prank and fatal shooting in August that killed a childhood friend.
William J. Calderon, 22, of Fort Wayne pleaded guilty Monday in Tippecanoe Superior Court 5 to pointing a firearm, a Class A misdemeanor.
Judge Les Meade declined to immediately accept the plea, noting that he felt family members of the victim, 21-year-old Landon Siela of Fort Wayne, deserved to have a say.
"You will have the right to be heard," Meade said to Landon Siela's father, Ron Siela, who was seated in the courtroom's gallery. "... Frankly, we need to save a good amount of time for this."
Ron Siela, of Fort Wayne, declined to comment after Monday's hearing.
The fatal shooting took place Aug. 22 at an apartment at 204 Wiggins St. in West Lafayette, near Purdue's campus. It was two days before classes began.
Calderon said he and his roommate, Cory S. Lynch, 23, had just moved in that weekend. Landon Siela, a student at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, was visiting.
Lynch, of Carmel, is accused of firing the fatal shot that struck Landon Siela in his throat. Lynch is charged in Tippecanoe Circuit Court with reckless homicide, criminal recklessness and pointing a firearm.
All counts against him are felonies. Lynch is tentatively scheduled to stand trial Feb. 2.
During Monday's hearing, Calderon said the three friends had spent much of Aug. 22 consuming beer and hard liquor. Calderon estimated having between 10 and 12 shots. He had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19 percent shortly after the shooting.
That day, the three had been playing with an airsoft gun, which shoots rubber pellets at low velocities.
For unclear reasons, Calderon said he and Lynch then decided to play a prank on Landon Siela by using real weapons. They came up with this plan while Landon Siela was outside.
Calderon grabbed and "cleared" a Springfield .45-caliber handgun, meaning the weapon was not loaded. That handgun belonged to Landon Siela, according to court documents.
Lynch then got hold of Calderon's Kimber .45-caliber handgun, which Calderon said he kept loaded in their apartment for protection.
Calderon told the court that he did not see Lynch clear the handgun before pointing it and pulling the trigger, fatally injuring Landon Siela. This occurred after Landon Siela had walked out of the bathroom.
He said Lynch knew the weapon was loaded because "we had both talked about it earlier in the day."
Under Calderon's plea agreement with the Tippecanoe County prosecutor's office, his sentence will be left up to Meade. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to 365 days in jail and a $5,000 fine
