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Teen convicted of reckless homicide

Austin Hovarter, 18, entered a plea of no contest to a felony charge of first-degree reckless homicide.

On July 26, 2017, Hovarter fatally shot his 15-year-old friend, Jacob Peglow, with a .22-caliber handgun in Farmington.

Peglow was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the criminal complaint, Hovarter told investigators that he did not know the gun was loaded.

The Waupaca teen said he had played cops and robbers with the gun in the past and pulled the trigger, but the gun had not been loaded.

A 14-year-old boy who witnessed the shooting told investigators that Hovarter had not checked to determine if the gun was loaded.

Waupaca County Circuit Court Judge Troy Nielsen ordered a pre-sentence investigation following Hovarter’s plea on Wednesday, Jan. 3.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 19.

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