WEST CHESTER, PA — The Chester County District Attorney’s Office announced that on February 15, 2023, Judge Sondergaard sentenced 18-year-old Victor Lara-Ortiz, of Coatesville, to 6-23 months to be served on Electric Home Monitoring (EHM) followed by 5 years of probation for involuntary manslaughter, firearms not to be carried without a license, and endangering the welfare of a child.
The February 28, 2022, incident occurred in the victim’s Coatesville home after the defendant left a loaded gun unholstered and unsecured on his bedroom table with his bedroom door open. The defendant’s 4-year-old brother found the weapon and died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The defendant illegally purchased the firearm with the assistance of an adult male co-defendant. Lara-Ortiz was not home at the time of his brother’s death.
Judge Sondergaard noted that since his brother’s death, community members came together to support him and he re-enrolled in school, earning good grades and participating in activities with the goal of attending college. At the time of the shooting, Lara-Ortiz had been expelled from high school.
Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said, “The defendant’s criminal actions had devastating and irrevocable consequences, and it cost the life of an innocent child. The defendant was not eligible to own a firearm and now a family and a community have been shattered. We must be vigilant with the responsibility that comes with gun safety ownership, and keep illegal guns off the streets.”
The Coatesville City Police and Chester County Detectives are credited with the investigation which led to a successful prosecution of Lara-Ortiz. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Erin O’Brien.
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