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Bond set for Cape teen charged with manslaughter

By Staff | Sep 9, 2010

A judge set the bond for a Cape Coral teen accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend in the head at one-quarter of a million dollars Wednesday.
Lee County Judge John Duryea set the $250,000 bond for Dylan Stanley Wisniewski, 18, of 2125 S.E. Sixth Lane, during a hearing at the Lee County Justice Center. Wisniewski was arrested Friday on one count of manslaughter with a firearm in the death of 15-year-old Ashlee Swazey.
If released on bail, Wisniewski is not allowed to possess firearms and he cannot reside in any residence where firearms are present. Duryea also ruled that Wisniewski would have a curfew from 6 p.m.-5:30 a.m. and he must surrender his passport, if he has one. Wisniewski must remain in Lee County as well.
“He has not been formally charged with anything because we have not received the case for review,” Samantha Syoen, spokeswoman for the State Attorney’s Office, said Wednesday afternoon. “Once we do, we will review it for any possible charges.”
If the state decides to file the one charge of manslaughter with a firearm against Wisniewski, he could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
Wisniewski remained at the Lee County Jail as of Wednesday evening.
Neither he nor his family could be reached for comment.
According to a police report, Cape officers responded to a shooting at 2125 S.E. Sixth Lane at about 4:30 p.m. Friday. 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 one 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.
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.
Swazey’s family could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The Lee County School District and Ida S. Baker High School, where Swazey was a junior, have made counselors available to students and staff members.
A Facebook website has been set up in remembrance of Swazey.
Information on funeral services were not available as of Wednesday.