A St. Marys man has been convicted of unintentional second-degree murder in the New Year’s Day shooting death of a friend.

Twenty-two-year-old Pablo Gonzalez is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 25 for the killing of 24-year-old Levi Bishop of Rossville. Pottawatomie County jurors returned the guilty verdict Thursday.

The Manhattan Mercury reports that Bishop was shot while riding around St. Marys with Gonzalez and two others looking for another party to ring in the New Year. They all had been drinking heavily.

The defense described what happened as an accident. Gonzalez testified that he had put the gun to his own head, thinking it was unloaded. He said Bishop told him not to, but he turned the gun on Bishop, saying it wasn’t loaded and pulled the trigger.