A Lebanon couple has been charged by city police over the previously reported fatal shooting of Hector Pomales-Torres on Friday, April 12.
Police said earlier that Pomales-Torres had been shot in his home on the 700 block of Lehman Street.
Read More: 24-year-old Lebanon man fatally shot Wednesday night in city residence
In a press release Thursday, April 18, the Lebanon County District Attorney’s office said that an investigation had revealed that Pomales-Torres’ roommates, 20-year-old Mariam Saadoune and 26-year-old Guillen Fabian-Garcia, had been operating and manipulating their handgun prior to the incident.
“One roommate believed the gun was not loaded,” says the release. “She (Saadoune) pointed the weapon at a closed door and pulled the trigger.”
The DA’s office said that the round traveled through the residence and struck the victim in the abdomen. Fabian-Garcia drove Pomales-Torres to WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital, where Pomales-Torres ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
According to the news release, both Saadoune and Fabian-Garcia admitted their roles in the incident.
“Defendant Saadoune cooperated with the investigation and police confirmed her version of events based on evidence observed during the crime scene’s examination,” said the DA’s office in the release.
Police seized the handgun used in the incident, which the DA’s office said was lawfully purchased and possessed by Fabian-Garcia.
“In the moments prior to the shooting, Defendant Garcia attempted to instruct Defendant Saadoune as to safe gun handling and manipulation,” said the DA’s office.
“He allowed Defendant Saadoune to touch and operate the firearm; he allowed her to eject the loaded magazine and pull the trigger. The live round, still chambered, fired from the gun’s barrel which struck and killed the victim.”
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said in a statement that the charges in the case are not an indictment of lawful gun ownership, use, or possession.
“The charges are a reflection that anytime an individual holds a gun – he or she holds the ability to take a life,” said Hess Graf. “Firearms should be treated with the utmost respect for that very reason.”
“The gross negligence of these Defendants combined to fire a bullet into their own occupied home and kill their friend. This ultimate consequence – the killing of Hector Pomales-Torres – is the one mistake that can never be undone.”
Hess Graf said that the criminal charges reflect the factual background of the case, that a negligent killing is manslaughter.
“The charges should serve as a reminder to our community to always practice safe handling of weapons,” she said. “Had these Defendants followed safe gun ownership, our victim would still be alive today.”
Saadoune faces a felony charge of discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, as well as misdemeanor charges for involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person. After an arraignment Thursday in front of Magisterial District Judge Maria Dissinger, Saadoune was remanded to Lebanon County Correctional Facility in lieu of bail, which was set at $100,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 2. The DA’s office said the charges were “based on her negligent use and firing of the handgun.”
Fabian-Garcia faces a misdemeanor charge of recklessly endangering another person. Following an arraignment Thursday, also in front of Judge Dissinger, Fabian-Garcia was remanded to Lebanon County Correctional Facility in lieu of $20,000 bail. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 2 as well. The DA’s office said that the charges were for “providing his co-defendant a loaded gun and not properly supervising his co-defendant’s use of said firearm.”
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