MARTINEZ — A Concord man has been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter in an April 29 fatal shooting in Bay Point, court records show.
Kai Rossberg, 19, was initially arrested on suspicion of murder in the death of 19-year-old Jesus Gallegos. Nearly seven months later, though, prosecutors opted to charge him with involuntary manslaughter instead of the more serious charge.
The charges were filed in November. Rossberg was arrested Dec. 11 and remains in Contra Costa County jail in lieu of $35,000 bail. His next court date, an arraignment hearing, has been set for Jan. 4, court records show.
According to Contra Costa sheriff’s investigators, Gallegos, Rossberg and three juveniles were at a home on the 400 block of Clifford Court when Gallegos was fatally shot. The witnesses told police that the two 19-year-old men had been drinking and playing with a firearm earlier in the evening.
A then-15-year-old girl who was present for the shooting reportedly told police she was certain the pistol was not loaded and that it had a broken magazine, and that Rossberg emerged from a room and shot Gallegos while the two were talking. Rossberg appeared panicked after the shooting, and told others to “punch me then say he shot himself,” and “I don’t want to go to jail,” witnesses reportedly told investigators.
When Rossberg was interviewed, he confirmed the detail about believing the gun was unloaded and/or broken, but denied shooting Gallegos, insisting that he must have shot himself, according to police. Mutual friends of both men later told police they had been close friends but recently had a falling out, and that Rossberg had threatened Gallegos before.
Video shot from one of the juvenile’s phones that night also showed Rossberg playing with the gun and pointing it at the camera, police said.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Rossberg was booked on suspicion of murder, but released after a few days in custody, pending further investigation. The sheriff’s office brought the case over to the District Attorney last month.
