Man jailed in shooting death of friend

A Carson City man remained in custody this morning, charged in the accidental shooting death of his roommate late Friday night.

Anthony Joseph Kelich, 60, is being held in the Carson City Jail on suspicion of felony involuntary manslaughter, being a felon in possession of a firearm and misdemeanor possession of a firearm while intoxicated. He was arrested at 3:50 p.m. Saturday.

According to the arrest report, Kelich and his roommates Kennith Johnson, 47, and Mike Scott, 46, were in the Brunswick Canyon area in east Carson City on Friday night shooting Johnson's 30-06 rifle.

At some point, the men were in the area of the reservoir when Johnson loaded the rifle and handed it to Kelich in passenger seat. Then Johnson exited the vehicle to urinate, while Scott was standing near the driver's side door, the report states.

Kelich told officers, after Johnson handed him the rifle, he got out of the truck and intended to put the rifle into the cab when it went off. The bullet struck Scott in the jaw. Johnson said he turned and saw Scott falling to the ground.

"(Johnson said) he was scared and got in the vehicle and drove away, leaving Kelich and the victim at the scene of the shooting," the report states.

Where Johnson went after the shooting is unclear, said Sheriff Ken Furlong. It was at least eight hours later that he drove his pickup truck to the courthouse parking lot Saturday morning and called 911 about 9:30 a.m., Furlong said.

Just before Johnson's report, residents in the area of Brunswick Canyon happened upon Kelich walking out of the area. They called police at 8:30 a.m.

When a deputy found Kelich he told the deputy that he accidentally shot his friend.

According to the report, Kelich stayed with his friend before trying to walk out of the canyon.

"Kelich said he stayed with the victim for eight or nine hours before the victim died of his injuries," the report states.

Kelich led police to Scott's body some eight miles off Sedge Road. He was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

"At this point in the investigation, I have not found any evidence or witnesses to establish that Kelich intended to kill the victim. Due to Kelich shooting the victim and causing his death while intoxicated and being an ex-felon, I arrested Kelich for involuntary manslaughter," the report states.

According to Furlong, the three men were roommates along with Scott's wife. She arrived at the Sheriff's Office on Saturday afternoon to report him missing and learned of his death, said Furlong.

Furlong said the case remains under investigation.