Drunken Russian roulette game leaves U.S. soldier dead, another charged with murder, say Alaska police

(CBS/AP) ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A drunken get-together involving two Alaska-based soldiers escalated into a deadly game of Russian roulette.

Army Private First Class Jacob Brouch, 25, is charged with second-degree murder and weapons misconduct in the death of his 26-year-old Army friend Sgt. Michael McCloskey of Beverly, N.J, who fatally shot himself in the stomach. 

The army says McCloskey had completed two tours of duty in Iraq, the last in November 2009.

According to Anchorage police it all took place in Brouch's home in Eagle River, a suburb of Anchorage, with his wife and two children at home early Sunday.

The 25-year-old told police that he started playing Russian roulette in a back bedroom Saturday afternoon while McCloskey watched. Brouch insisted it was safe because he could see the bottom of the single bullet in the cylinder, something he later told McCloskey, according to court documents. McCloskey said he hated the game and would not play it, the papers say.

Later that same day, McCloskey asked if they could pose with the revolver and another gun for his Facebook page.  The two of them then posed for various photos including one where they pointed the weapons at each other and then at themselves while they were drunk, according to the documents.

Once they were done the two put the weapons away and continued to drink. Later in the night McCloskey asked to see the revolver again, Brouch told police. Brouch got out the revolver and emptied the cylinder, then handed it to McCloskey.

McCloskey then, according to Brouch, asked his friend for a single round. McCloskey spun the cylinder and then pulled the trigger, Brouch told the police.

Instead of hearing a click, the documents say, Brouch heard a "deafening bang." McCloskey had shot himself in the stomach. Brouch called 911 and McCloskey was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died soon after.

Brouch's bail was set at $250,000, and his case assigned to the Alaska Public Defender Agency until the court determines if he can afford to hire an attorney.

McCloskey joined the Army in August 2002. In addition to two tours in Iraq, he served at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. and Fort Bragg, N. C. before arriving in Alaska in March 2010 where he served as a construction equipment operator and construction engineer.