Chester County Teen Waives Hearing In Death Of Brother

CHESTER COUNTY —An 18-year-old Coatesville teen waived a preliminary hearing today in the Feb. 28 death of his 4-year-old brother who shot himself in the head with the teen's gun.

Victor Lara-Ortiz remained free on $100,000 bail after waiving hearing before District Judge Gregory Hines in Coatesville on involuntary manslaughter and related charges.

Involuntary manslaughter is an unintentional killing through reckless behavior. It carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Lara-Ortiz is a senior at Coatesville Area High School.

Coatesville police said Lara-Ortiz left a loaded firearm unsecured on his bedroom table.

The boy, Roman Aguilera-Ortiz, died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the Chester County coroner's office.

Police said Lara-Ortiz was not home when his brother died and had left his Glock on a table by his bed.

Detectives said Lara-Ortiz admitted the gun was his and said he often left it un-holstered and unsecured in his bedroom.

Co-defendant, William Thomas, 31, is in Chester County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail on charges of illegally purchasing and transferring the firearm to Lara-Ortiz, delivery of a firearm to a minor, and related charges.

According to police records, detectives traced the gun's serial number through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

They discovered that the Trop Gun Shop in Gap, Lancaster County, sold it to defendant William Thomas on Feb. 15.

Thomas was not allowed to license or purchase a firearm because of a prior criminal conviction.

Police said Thomas used Lara-Ortiz's phone number instead of his own and failed to report his prior conviction.

Police learned that Thomas illegally transferred the semi-automatic Glock 43x to Lara-Ortiz the same day he purchased it.

An examination of Lara-Ortiz's cell phone showed a video of Lara-Ortiz firing the Glock from a car on Feb. 16 in Valley Township.