Man pleads guilty to fatally shooting friend at Purdue

LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A former Purdue University student pleaded guilty Monday to charges in an alcohol-fueled prank in which a friend was fatally shot.

William Calderon, 22, of Fort Wayne said during a court hearing Monday that he, his roommate and a hometown friend had been drinking at his off-campus apartment a couple days before classes started in August 2009.

Calderon said he and his roommate decided to scare 21-year-old Landon Siela of Fort Wayne by pointing guns at him when he left the bathroom. But Calderon said the gun held by 23-year-old Cory Lynch of Carmel fired, fatally striking Siela in the throat.

Calderon faces up to a year in jail on the misdemeanor charge of pointing an unloaded firearm. Lynch is scheduled to face trial starting Feb. 2 on reckless homicide and other charges.