The Jacob Brouch manslaughter trial is in the hands of the jury, after attorneys gave closing arguments in the case Wednesday.
Brouch faces charges of manslaughter and fourth-degree misconduct involving a weapon after his best friend Michael McCloskey shot himself while playing Russian roulette. The shooting happened after the two, who were soldiers at the time, spent almost 24 hours drinking heavily in March 2011. McCloskey shot himself in the stomach with a Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum revolver, and the prosecution says Brouch is partially responsible for his friend’s death.
“When Jacob handed over that powerful revolver to a drunk Michael McCloskey, and that single-lethal bullet, he did not hand over his accountability with it,” prosecutor Joe Kovac told the jury.
The defense argued the case is about personal accountability.
“When a person chooses to behave in an unsafe behavior, or dangerous behavior, that person must live or die with the consequences of that conduct,” said Brouch's attorney, Dunnington Babb.
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