Man Slain in Pistol Game; Friend Jailed

A 22-year-old man was fatally shot in the head Saturday night in Huntington Beach while playing a form of Russian roulette with a friend who was arrested on suspicion of homicide, police said.

Police and paramedics arrived at 19362 Olana Lane about 9 p.m. and found the victim collapsed and bleeding from the close-range gunshot wound. He was rushed to Fountain Valley Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The victim was identified as George Hirozo Nagata, 22, of Long Beach, by Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Bill Peterson. Randy Douglas Keller, whom police identified as a 29-year-old physician’s assistant and a resident of the home, was arrested at the scene. He was booked at the Huntington Beach Jail on suspicion of murder and held in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Keller lives in the middle-class neighborhood with two other male roommates, both of whom were questioned by police but were not taken into custody. Questioned by a reporter, neither would elaborate on the events leading up to the alleged homicide.

Modified Russian Roulette

“The victim and suspect were playing a modified game of Russian roulette,” said Sgt. Luis Ochoa, who explained that the game is usually played alone.

“You take a gun and put anywhere from one to more bullets in it. Then you spin the cylinder, close it, point it and pull the trigger. If it falls on an emtpy chamber you win, if it falls on a bullet, you’ve lost.”

Ochoa said that Nagata initially pointed the .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver at Keller, but it did not fire. When Keller pointed the gun, it did fire, into the victim’s face, the officer said.

Ochoa said police will continue investigating the shooting and circumstances that led up to it.

A neighbor who asked not to be identified said Keller had moved into the neighborhood two years ago and often acted “strangely.” She said he would “stand out front and go into a karate thing, staring at us for hours.” But one of Keller’s housemates disputed the statement.