YOUNGSTOWN Accused says she didn't know gun was loaded

The woman admitted the shooting after first telling police she was not there when it occurred, police said.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 31-year-old South Side woman killed her neighbor as she fired a gun she believed was unloaded, a police detective said.
Kisha Roman, of Hunter Avenue, was arraigned on a charge of reckless homicide, a third-degree felony, Monday in Youngstown Municipal Court. She is accused of killing Dennis Best, 49, who lived across the street. Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly set a $50,000 cash or surety bond on the woman, who has three children.
Detective Sgt. Daryl Martin said Roman admitted the Sunday shooting after first telling police she was not in the house at the time. Martin said the woman had taken the gun to Best after Best had been in a fight with three men earlier in the day. She said Best had pulled the trigger several times and it did not fire. When she fired it, it went off, Roman said.
Martin said there was only one live round in the .22-caliber handgun.
Where victim was: Best was found around 1:30 a.m. Sunday lying on his dining room floor with a gunshot wound behind his left ear.
Assistant City Prosecutor Michael Krause had requested a $100,000 bond. He said alcohol and drug use were a factor in the slaying and that Roman was "certainly reckless in her handling of the gun."
Defense attorney Walter Ritchie had asked Judge Kobly to consider Roman's children when setting the bond.
Besides ordering the lower bond, Judge Kobly also appointed an attorney to represent Roman.