SW Idaho man used pellet-firing air rifle in fatal shooting. Here’s his prison term
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A Melba man who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter after a shooting last year was sentenced to at least three years in prison, according to online court records.
Christian Price was arrested in Melba after shooting 41-year-old Richard Vandecoevering, according to previous Statesman reporting. Price was trying to get Vandecoevering off his property for a while and the two had argued multiple times before, Price told law enforcement.
He was originally charged with voluntary manslaughter and an enhancement for use of a firearm during a felony, according to court records.
The judge sentenced Price to three years determinate and seven years indeterminate, meaning he could be eligible for parole after three years. He will receive credit for more than 250 days already served.
On the day of Vandecoevering’s death, Price saw him leave a shed and told him to leave, according to previous Statesman reporting. The two started yelling and Price grabbed an air rifle that fires pellets. Vandecoevering told Price that he wouldn’t do anything, and then Price shot him.
Price panicked, he told police. He threw the gun on the ground and got two others who lived there. One called 911 and Price started chest compressions. Price later threw the gun under a shed, he said, which was where law enforcement retrieved it.
