Libby man charged after alleged Russian roulette game ends in death
Keigan Isaiah Ball. (The Western News)
A Libby man facing charges involving the death of another local man on Memorial Day weekend during a game of Russian roulette appeared in Lincoln County District Court on July 24 and pleaded not guilty.
Keigan I. Ball, 22, who is free on $50,000 bail, is charged with negligent homicide and criminal endangerment after a May 27 incident south of Libby.
Judge Matthew Cuffe set Ball's next hearing for Oct. 10.
According to court documents, 30-year-old Shane Ellison died after he mistakenly shot himself with revolver that he thought was unloaded.
The investigation began when Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies Anthony Jenson and Ben Fisher responded to the scene on Farm to Market Road. Jenson saw a Dodge Stealth that had come to a stop at a chain link fence. He also saw Ellison laying just outside the driver’s side door of the vehicle.
Jenson spotted two men standing at the end of the driveway, one of whom he recognized as Ball. Jenson wrote in his report that blood covered Ball’s arms and jacket.
The deputy approached Ball and asked him what happened. Ball allegedly said, “It was (expletive) unloaded.”
Ball said he and Ellison had been messing around, according to court documents. He allegedly said they would usually go into the woods, put one in the chamber and play Russian roulette.
Ball said he emptied the revolver and left the loaded cartridges in his hand, according to court documents. He then handed the gun to Ellison who spun the cylinder, put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger, according to court filings.
According to Jenson’s report, Ball said he drove to the Farm to Market location, which is where Ellison had been living, because he didn’t know what to do.
Fisher allegedly found four live rounds in the grass near Ball’s vehicle. Fisher’s inspection of the gun showed it held five rounds. One spent round was in the cylinder behind the firing pin, according to court documents.
A conviction for negligent homicide may result in a 20-year sentence in the Montana State Prison. A conviction for criminal endangerment may result in a 10-year sentence.