Hiccup cure gone wrong: Texas soldier charged with manslaughter

An attempt by a member of the military to scare the hiccups out of the system of a fellow soldier from Ft. Hood in Texas has left one man dead and the other in jail on manslaughter charges, authorities said Wednesday.

Pfc. Patrick Edward Myers, 27, has been charged with manslaughter, a second-degree felony, Bell County Dist. Atty. Henry Garza said in a telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times. If convicted, Myers faces two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Justice of the Peace Garland Potvin set a bail bond of $1 million for Myers, who was held in the Bell County jail on Wednesday.

According to police in Killeen, Texas, Myers was with two other men in an off-base home Sunday night, where the trio were watching football and drinking. Police said they responded to a report of a shooting at the home on Cantabrian Drive just after 10 p.m.

When they got to the home, police said, “they found a male suffering from a gunshot wound to his face and two other males at the residence.... At one point one of the males produced a handgun and, while handling it in an unsafe manner, discharged the handgun, striking the victim in the face.”

“The victim had the hiccups. The suspect pulled out a gun to scare him in order to stop the hiccups and the gun went off,” Killeen police public affairs officer Carroll Smith said by telephone.

The dead soldier was identified by Ft. Hood officials as Pfc. Isaac Lawrence Young, 22, of Ash Grove, Mo.

Young entered active duty in May 2011 as a motor transport operator and arrived at Ft. Hood in October 2011. He had been assigned to the 154th Transportation Company, 180th Transportation Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), Ft. Hood, since September 2012.

Young’s awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon, according to Ft. Hood.

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