Covina man pleads ‘no contest’ in brother’s accidental shooting death

COVINA — A Covina man accused of accidentally shooting and killing his brother while playing with a handgun pleaded no contest to a charge of involuntary manslaughter Thursday, officials said.
Oswaldo Cibrian, 25, was immediately sentenced to three years of formal probation, Pomona Superior Court officials said.
His brother, 21-year-old Eliazar Mejia, suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the face when a gun the brothers were handling along with their 19-year-old cousin, who was visiting from Oregon, went off, Covina police officials said. The men were believed to have been drinking before the fatal mishap, which took place Nov. 6 in an apartment in the 300 block of North Prospero Drive.
Cibrian and the cousin, Juan Vasquez, called police to report the shooting, officials said. Vasquez was arrested along with Cibrian, but prosecutors declined to file charges against him.
Cibrian was initially arrested on suspicion of murder, but ultimately charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was released from jail on a bond Nov. 12 pending legal proceedings.

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