1 year in jail, probation for fatally shooting friend
Published 8:27 am Friday, November 30, 2018
ST. PAUL — A man who fatally shot his friend in St. Paul has been sentenced to jail time and probation.
A Ramsey County judge agreed to terms of a plea deal Wednesday and gave Joel Paulson one year in jail and 10 years of probation.
Twenty-five-year-old Justin Finklea was accidentally shot by Paulson while the two were drinking at a St. Paul duplex a year ago.
The 32-year-old Paulson told authorities he didn’t think a handgun was loaded when he pointed it jokingly at Finklea and pulled the trigger. Finklea was the father of two sons, ages 6 and 8.