Vermont Man Who Served One Year for Accidentally Killing his Friend Ordered to Pay Restitution

Local news reports

A man who served exactly one year in prison for the accidental shooting death of a friend in 2010 was ordered Friday to pay $20 a month toward the restitution of more than $6,700 for his friend’s funeral expenses.

In May 2012, Nicholas Bell, 25, of Manchester, pleaded no contest to a felony charge of manslaughter and misdemeanor charges of simple assault with a weapon and reckless endangerment.


Bell and a friend, Jeffrey Charbonneau, 24, of Manchester, had spent the night before Thanksgiving at the home of a mutual friend. On Nov. 25, 2010, Bell took what he believed to be a pellet gun from the bedroom wall and shot it at Charbonneau to wake him up.

However, Bell had picked up a loaded .22-caliber rifle. The bullet hit Charbonneau in the chest and he died before rescue workers could reach the Manchester home where Bell and Charbonneau were staying.

Bell said Friday that he had gone to the Newport jail on June 20, 2012, and was released on June 20 this year.

He also said that “morally and legally” he would like to make restitution, which totals more than $8,600, to the Charbonneau family but said he has no ability to pay right now. 

The restitution order is based on expenses incurred by the family because of Jeffrey Charbonneau’s death and include $6,720 for Jeffrey Charbonneau’s funeral and about $1,360 for Jeffrey’s sister, Kelly, to come from Colorado for the funeral. A request was also made for about $600 in wages lost by Richard Charbonneau, Jeffrey’s father, in part, when he was called away from work to identify his son’s body.