Unusual Sentence Greets YouTuber Who Killed Beau

Mother of 2 Monalisa Perez to serve 180 days in jail in 10-day increments
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 15, 2018 11:20 AM CDT
YouTuber Who Fatally Shot Boyfriend Learns Her Fate
Monalisa Perez.   (Northwest Regional Corrections Center via AP)

A woman who fired a handgun aimed at her boyfriend, whose only protection was a thick book, will serve just 180 days in jail following his June death. A Minnesota judge approved a deal in which 20-year-old mother of two Monalisa Perez pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in exchange for 180 days, to be served in 10-day increments, reports the West Central Tribune. She'd faced a maximum of 10 years in prison, per USA Today. But prosecutors emphasized it was Pedro Ruiz's idea to attempt the stunt in the hope of entertaining Perez's YouTube subscribers. Though he apparently believed he'd survive, 22-year-old Ruiz was killed when the .50-caliber bullet went through the hardcover encyclopedia and into his chest at the couple's home in Halstad.

"This foolish stunt was dreamed up, planned, and executed by Pedro Ruiz, and the defendant wrongfully and tragically relied on his assurances that the stunt was safe," Norman County prosecutor James Brue said, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune, which notes the Desert Eagle pistol was a foot from Ruiz when fired. The judge decided Perez's sentence—which also bars her from owning a firearm and profiting from the incident or resulting video, which hasn't been uploaded—can be served in South Dakota, where she now lives with her two kids fathered by Ruiz. Two of Ruiz's aunts say Perez's sentence is too short. "You took him away from us," one told Perez in court, per the West Central Tribune. "This comes from the heart, where you shot him." (More Minnesota stories.)

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