Calderon guilty plea rejected

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - A judge rejected the guilty plea of a former Purdue student in charges related to the fatal shooting of his friend.

William Calderon was in court Tuesday for a sentencing hearing.

He was arrested in August, after Landon Siela, 21, was killed when Calderon's roommate Cory Lynch accidentally fired a gun that hit Siela in the neck. The men said they had been drinking and playing pranks on each other.

Calderon pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of Pointing a Handgun in January. Under an anticipated plea agreement, the state of Indiana would have dropped a second misdemeanor charge of False Informing.

But in court Tuesday, Judge Les Meade rejected Calderon's plea agreement. Meade ordered Calderon and the Tippecanoe County prosector to attend a scheduling conference on March 24, meaning Calderon could face a jury trial.