While he never pulled the trigger, a 28-year-old Gaffney man pleaded guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter Tuesday in Cherokee County General Sessions Court, admitting that his actions played a role in the shooting death of his friend.

In an unusual case, Ronald Eric Lipscomb initially was treated as a victim of a March 13, 2009, shooting incident that occurred onMary Bramlett Alley. Lipscomb himself was shot in the arm and leg during the encounter.

Initially indicted for murder, Lipscomb reached an agreement to plead guilty to the lesser offense of involuntary manslaughter.

Lipscomb faced up to five years of imprisonment on the charge and at the end of Tuesday‘s hearing, Circuit Court Judge Mark Hayes decided to impose the full 5-year sentence. Lipscomb was given credit for six months of time served.

The charge stemmed from a March 13, 2009, incident during which Gaffney police were called to Mary Bramlett Alley and found Lipscomb wounded and 19-year-old Markee Guest dead.

Assistant Solicitor MichaelMorin alleged that Lipscomb initially claimed he and Guest were the victims of a drive-by shooting. However, according to Morin and previous testimony in the case, the shooting actually occurred inside a car.

Police claimed that Lipscomb and Guest were picked up by then 22-yearold Thomas Michael Smith and three others to conduct a drug transaction. Thomas Smith, Guest and Lipscomb all were seated in the back seat of the car when a dispute broke out.

While Lipscombs’ attorney maintained that it’s still unknown who brandished a firearmfirst, both Thomas Smith and Lipscomb had handguns. Lipscomb’s gun never was fired but bullets from Smith’s gun struck both Guest, who was seated in the middle, and Lipscomb, who was able to climb out the vehicle window.

At his own trial in November 2010, Smith claimed he was acting in self-defense but a jury convicted him of voluntary manslaughter. Smith was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

“Of all the confusion and disputed facts,” Attorney Andrew Johnston told the court, “it’s never been alleged he (Lipscomb) wanted anything to happen toMarkee Guest.”

Familymembers of Guest asked the court for justice and to impose the maximum sentence.

When given an opportunity to address the court, Lipscomb noted, “I lost a friend as well.”

Ashley Smith, 29, whose address is listed in court records as Marlin Drive, was a front seat passenger in the vehicle when the shooting occurred and also pleaded guilty Tuesday before Judge Hayes to the charge of possession with intent to deliver marijuana.

Smith was just getting a ride home when her traveling companions decided to stop and make a transaction with Lipscomb and Guest, her defense attorney, Trent Pruett, alleged. Her only link to the incident, he argued, was that she offered to make change. “That was the extent of her involvement,” Pruett said.

Pruett further argued that Smith spent 88 days in jail and the last two and a half years on home confinement with electronic monitoring.

Judge Hayes sentenced her to five years in the State Department of Corrections, which he suspended to time served and 36 months of probation. He also ordered her to perform 100 hours of community service.