Galen Hawk, 26, entered a plea of guilty to negligent homicide Wednesday morning in Lake County District Court for the October shooting death of a three year-old boy.

Chief Deputy Criminal County Attorney James Lapotka said Hawk pleaded guilty to shooting three year-old Lonato Moran-Allen. Accoording to court documents, Hawk told authorities that he and the boy were playing 'gun tag', in which Moran-Allen had a toy gun and Hawk had a .380 pistol, when Hawk fired the pistol and struck the boy. Moran-Allen  was taken to a Ronan hospital where he died of his injuries.

Court records also indicate that Hawk had been drinking a mixture of whiskey and alcoholic lemonade before the shooting incident.

"Hawk's attorney requested that a mental health evaluation be a part of his sentencing evaluation," Lapotka said. "The judge ordered a pre-sentence investigation be conducted by the Department of Corrections, and we're awaiting that right now."

Lapotka said the maximum sentence for negligent homicide in Montana is 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. Sentencing will occur in approximately 60 days.

 

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