State: Charge filed in fatal teen shooting
The State Attorney’s Office has officially charged a Cape Coral teen with manslaughter for allegedly shooting and killing his girlfriend on Sept. 3.
Dylan Stanley Wisniewski, 18, of 2125 S.E. Sixth Lane, was arrested and charged with one count of manslaughter with a firearm in the death of 15-year-old Ashlee Swazey. The state filed the charge against him Tuesday.
“We filed one charge,” Samantha Syoen, spokeswoman for the state, said.
Wisniewski faces up to 30 years in prison if he is found guilty of the charge.
According to a police report, Cape officers responded to a shooting at 2125 S.E. Sixth Lane at about 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 3. Wisniewski told police that “he was ‘messing’ with a gun” and that his girlfriend, Swazey, had been hurt. She was found lying on the floor in a bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head.
Swazey was pronounced dead at the scene.
Later during questioning, Wisniewski told police that he and Swazey were in his bedroom. According to the report, she was walking around the room when he removed a .22-caliber rifle from a gun rack above his closet. He pointed the gun in her direction, first at her feet and then at her shoulder area.
Swazey reportedly walked up to the end of the gun and put her mouth close to the barrel, the report states. Wisniewski stated that he pulled the trigger, not realizing the gun was loaded. Swazey fell to the floor and he called 911.
Swazey’s family could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Others inside the home at the time of the shooting were also questioned by Cape police. They confirmed that Wisniewski and Swazey were the only ones in Wisniewski’s room “when they heard the ‘bang,'” according to the report.
Wisniewski remained at the Lee County Jail on $250,000 bond Tuesday.
Wisniewski’s family could be reached for comment.
Lee County Judge John Duryea determined during a hearing Sept. 9, that if Wisniewski is released on bail, he is not allowed to possess firearms and he cannot reside in any residence where firearms are present. He would have a curfew from 6 p.m.-5:30 p.m., and he could not travel outside Lee County.
Wisniewski has an arraignment set for Oct. 4, according to court records.