Hinesville Police Department detectives are investigating a game of Russian roulette that reportedly turned deadly early Friday morning.
According to an incident report filed by Patrolman Ivan Saez, who responded to a call of a shooting in the 200 block of Glenn Bryant Road shortly after 12:30 a.m., Graig Ledbetter, 29, was found lying on the living room floor between a couch and chair with a gunshot wound to his face.
A handgun that reportedly had been kicked away by a neighbor was six feet away from Ledbetter, near a hallway entrance. The neighbor, identified as Brandon Wooldridge, told police he kicked the gun out of Graig Ledbetter’s hand for safety.
Another neighbor, identified as Joshua Towne, entered the residence and removed a 5-year-old child from a bedroom and took him to his home, where Graig Ledbetter’s wife, Sarah Ledbetter, was waiting for police.
Detective Nollie Bentley said Sarah Ledbetter, who is a soldier assigned to Fort Stewart, told police her husband forced her to play a game of Russian roulette. Bentley said Graig Ledbetter placed one round in a Ruger Black Hawk revolver that has a spinning cylinder. Ledbetter apparently kept the gun in the home.
He reportedly pointed the gun at his wife and pulled the trigger. Ledbetter then pointed the gun at himself and pulled the trigger three times. On the third attempt, the weapon discharged and Ledbetter was struck in the forehead, according to the report.
Emergency medical personnel tried to revive Ledbetter, who was pronounced dead just after 1 a.m.
The case is still under investigation.