Jury finds Ankeny man guilty in roommate's accidental shooting death

An Ankeny man has been convicted of manslaughter in the 2020 death of his roommate.

John Peak, 25, was charged with reckless use of a firearm and involuntary manslaughter in the Jan. 25, 2022, shooting of 21-year-old Eli Reed. According to the criminal complaint, Peak was handling a loaded 9-mm pistol "in a reckless manner" while intoxicated and intentionally pulled the trigger, wounding Reed.

Reed, who was shot in the face, died in a Des Moines hospital the following day. A breath test several hours after the shooting found Peak to be above the legal limit of intoxication to drive, although the judge ruled that evidence could not be shared with jurors.

The jury on Friday found him guilty on both charges.

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In court filings, Peak's attorneys argued prosecutors failed to prove his client had intended to pull the trigger or had any intention of actually firing the gun.

"(Peak's) act was not intended or designed to cause the weapon to discharge, but to do the opposite — to ensure that the safety was properly engaged," attorney Alfredo Parrish wrote.

Parrish also had sought unsuccessfully to have the case dismissed after police, according to court filings, mishandled Peak's cell phone, causing any evidence it contained to be lost.

Peak is scheduled to be sentenced in April, and faces a maximum of 12 years in prison if both sentences are run consecutively.

This article has been updated to correct the maximum prison terms Peak could face at sentencing.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Jury convicts Iowa man in drunken accidental shooting death