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Russian Roulette Shooting: Man Gets 5 Years In Prison For Killing Friend

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4) - Prosecutors say Marquis Brooks had been drinking and using cocaine and Xanax, and was playing Russian roulette with his gun when he shot his friend, 22-year-old Zachary Espinosa-Bivens.

Marquis Brooks
Marquis Brooks (credit: CBS)

Brooks, 22, and Espinosa-Bivens were at the Edgewood Apartments at 6980 Stuart Street in Westminster on February 22.

Prosecutors cited witnesses as saying that Brooks had been talking about suicide that night before he brought out his gun.

They said he unloaded all but one bullet, pointed the gun at his own head and said, "Let's see if this is my time," and pulled the trigger.

The gun did not fire.

He then pointed it at Espinosa-Bivens' head and fired -- killing him.

Brooks fled the scene without trying to help his dying friend, Deputy District Attorney Carmen Rickard told the court.

"He didn't try to help him," she said. "He didn't call somebody who could try to help him. He left him to die by himself."

Then Brooks drove off while drunk, putting other members of the public at risk, Rickard said.

Adams County District Judge Sharon Holbrook rejected the defense request for a probation sentence, noting that Brooks failed to meet the conditions of his supervised release by failing to show for some court-ordered urine screens and testing positive for alcohol.

Brooks had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, possession of a controlled substance, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Judge Holbrook sentenced him to five years in prison.

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