Man expected to plead in Brunswick shooting

A Carson City man charged with the accidental shooting death of his roommate waived a preliminary hearing Thursday and has agreed to plead guilty.

Anthony Kelich, 60, shackled and in a wheelchair, appeared before Justice of the Peace John Tatro and waived his right to an evidentiary hearing and is expected to plead to the charges in District Court on Nov. 14.

In exchange for the plea, Assistant District Attorney Gerald Gardner said the state would not oppose that the sentences run concurrently.

Kelich has been in custody since Aug. 20, the day after he allegedly shot his roommate Mike Scott, 46, in the face while out with another roommate, Kennith Johnson, 47, target practicing in the hills off Sedge Road.

According to the police report, the three were intoxicated 8 miles off Deer Run Road when Johnson handed Kelich a loaded rifle and Kelich tried to put it inside the truck. The weapon fired, striking Scott in the jaw.

Investigators said Johnson panicked and fled, leaving the two men in the hills throughout the night.

It would be at least eight hours before Johnson drove his pickup truck to the courthouse parking lot the next morning and called 911, said Sheriff Ken Furlong.

Johnson's report came just moments after an exhausted Kelich walked out of the hills and after Scott died, reports indicate. "Kelich said he stayed with the victim for eight or nine hours before the victim died of his injuries," according to the arrest report.

Johnson has not been charged.

Kelich faces one to four years on a charge of involuntary manslaughter and one to six years for possession of a firearm by a convicted person. He has a felony conviction for third-offense DUI, court records indicate.