Giovanni Molinaro, 25, has been charged with negligent homicide in the death of a Malmstrom airman.
On Nov. 1, dispatch received a call from Molinaro, who said he’d accidentally shot someone who was not breathing in a dorm at Malmstrom.
Molinaro told the dispatcher that he’d been playing with a gun and thought it was unloaded.
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On the phone with dispatch, he kept yelling that he’d killed his base mate, according to court documents.
Malmstrom security forces responded to the dorm room on the third floor and found Molinaro on his knees, hunched over and appeared to be on the phone with dispatch.
Molinaro put his hands up and when asked if he was shot, responded, “no, I’m not, I shot him,” according to court documents.
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Security forces airmen looked into the dorm room and saw a male lying on the bed and checked for a pulse and signs of life.
Molinaro made unsolicited statements of, “I shot him” and “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I loved him,” according to court documents.
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The gun, a Glock 43 9 mm with an optic on it, was located next to the bed with the slide back, the magazine out and a live round next to the gun, according to court documents. A spent shell casing was on the floor.
The gun was removed from the room at the request of emergency responders prior to rendering aid, but the victim was determined to be deceased at the scene, according to court documents.
Molinaro was booked into the Cascade County Adult Detention Center at 1:44 a.m. Nov. 2 and is being held on a $500,000 bond.
Molinaro made an initial appearance in district court via Zoom from the jail on Nov. 2.
He said he’d need a public defender and Judge John Parker said he wouldn’t entertain an argument for bail reduction due to the nature of the charged offense.
If convicted of negligent homicide, Molinaor faces a sentence of up to 20 years in state prison, up to $50,000 fine or both.
The Cascade County Sheriff’s Office posted on Sunday that both men were airmen stationed at Malmstrom, but base officials have not yet confirmed that or responded to The Electric’s question about whether either was authorized to have a weapon in the dorms.
According to the base policy, newly assigned personnel have 10 duty days after in-processing to report to their command support staff and register all personally owned firearms and unusually dangerous weapons, to include airsoft, BB, paintball guns and similar devices.
Firearms “will never be stored in dormitories, billeting or temporary housing,” according to Malmstrom policy.
The authorized storage location for personnel residing in the dormitories, billeting or temporary housing is the 341st Security Forces Group Armory.
