A teenager waived up to adult court in the fatal shooting of his friend inside an Egg Harbor Township home has been indicted.
Ernesto Contreras Jimenez, now 18, was indicted on charges of aggravated manslaughter, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner announced Wednesday.
Jimenez was 17 when he shot 16-year-old Alejandro Gonzales Santos Jr. in the head using a 9mm Glock he put together through parts he bought online, according to the charges in the case.
The teen was showing the gun to his friends inside a bedroom of the home of another teen, Michael Campos, when the shooting happened.
Campos' parents called 911.
During his first appearance in adult court in September, Jimenez's attorney said his client had removed the magazine from the gun, thinking it was safe.
“Each statement indicated it happened so quick nothing could be done,” defense attorney Steve Feldman said at the hearing. “The way one witness put it, it was the quickest five seconds of his life.”
But it was not a mere accident, Assistant Prosecutor Rick McKelvey said at the time.
Instead, he said Jimenez showed “an extreme indifference to the value of human life" by pointing and shooting the gun, and then even hid it under the mattress.
Jimenez remains free on an ankle bracelet.
