Charles Edward Shisler
Local news
A Panama City Beach man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter and drug charges in connection with an accidental shooting last year that killed a new father the same day he brought his three-day old son home from the hospital, according to a report in the Panama City News Herald.
Charles Edward Shisler, 62, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of methamphetamine and was sentenced Friday, the News Herald reports.
The shooting occurred on June 17, 2014, when Shisler told police his gun went off when he picked it up by the trigger. The bullet traveled more than 200 feet, through Shisler's window screen, through a stand of trees and a glass door before striking Steven Justin Ayers in the back of the head and killing him.
Ayers, a local musician and guitar teacher, and his wife Jessica brought their first child home from the hospital that day and family members were gathering for a party when the shooting occurred. Ayers' son had been born on Father's Day.
"The odds, I'd guess, are one in infinity," Bay County Sheriff's Office Maj. Tommy Ford said at the time. "This was just tragic."
The investigation led BCSO deputies to Shisler's house, where they found Shisler, along with a glass pipe and "shake and bake" kit which tested positive for methamphetamine.
"The damn gun doesn't usually shoot," Shisler said, according to the arrest report. "You have to squeeze the hell out of the trigger to shoot it."
