A Florida deputy is being charged with manslaughter after shooting and killing his fiancée by accident while cleaning his gun.
A press release from the Ocala Police Department says that Lt. Leslie Boileau, who works for the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, called 9-1-1 on Thursday night, September 19, to say that he had shot his girlfriend by mistake.
“When the police arrived, they found the woman with a fatal gunshot wound to the forehead.” A 9 mm handgun was found on the victim’s lap, and a rifle was also found at the scene, read the news statement.
The press statement says that Boileau told police that the event was “accidental” and that it happened while he and his girlfriend were “handling and dry-firing the firearms.”
“Dry-firing” means firing a gun that does not have any bullets in it.
“When they got home from dinner,” Boileau said, “they opened a package with gun-cleaning tools and started cleaning them.”
FOX 13 obtained Boileau’s arrest report, which says he said, “grabbed the rifle and dry-fired it one time.” On the second attempt at dry-firing, he “had forgotten that he placed the loaded magazine into the rifle, which shot one live round in the direction of (his girlfriend), killing her.”
FOX 13 reports that the deputy reportedly said that he and his partner had had similar training and told the authorities there, “I know this looks pretty bad. I told her I did not want this to happen.”
According to the Ocala Police Department, Boileau’s apartment was searched with a warrant, and physical evidence found there supports his story.
The police department said in a news release that Leslie Boileau has been arrested for manslaughter for his part in the fatal shooting.
A news statement from PEOPLE says that Boileau is being held at the Marion County Jail without bond. They fired him right away from the job where he had worked for eight years as a deputy sheriff.
Sheriff Billy Woods of Marion County said in a statement that went with the release, “We are heartbroken for the victim’s family and friends.” Tens of thousands of police cops do great work every day.
The sad acts of one person have an effect on all police officers, which is a shame. The Ocala Police Department has my backing as they continue to look into this terrible crime.
In a separate statement, Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken said that the department is “working with the State Attorney’s Office to ensure justice is served” and sent his sympathy to the victim’s family and friends.
