On New Year's Day 2014, the life of 24-year-old Levi W. Bishop, a White male from Saint Marys, Kansas, was tragically cut short in an early morning shooting. The incident occurred as Bishop and a group of friends, including 21-year-old Pablo Alberto Gonzalez, were driving around St. Marys after a night of New Year's Eve celebrations. The group had been drinking heavily, and the festive atmosphere would soon take a dark and irreversible turn.
Inside the vehicle, Gonzalez was handling a
firearm. Accounts from the subsequent investigation and trial revealed a grim sequence of events. Gonzalez testified that he had first put the gun to his own head, believing it to be unloaded. Bishop reportedly warned him against this reckless act. However, Gonzalez then turned the gun towards Bishop, reassuring him that it was not loaded before pulling the trigger. The weapon discharged, and a single gunshot wound to the neck proved fatal for Levi Bishop.
In the immediate aftermath, a frantic Gonzalez drove to the St. Marys police station around 4:30 a.m. He alerted deputies, who found Bishop deceased in the passenger seat of the car. Gonzalez was taken into custody at the scene. An investigation into the shooting was launched, and Gonzalez was subsequently charged with second-degree murder.
Pablo Gonzalez was later convicted of unintentional second-degree murder in connection with Levi Bishop's death. During the trial, his defense maintained that the shooting was a tragic accident. Despite this, a jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to 123 months, or just over 10 years, in prison. There were no other suspects publicly named in the investigation.
