CHRISTIANSBURG — Seventeen-year-old Zach Linkous faces a second-degree murder charge in the shooting of his 15-year-old friend, Edward Bertrand, who died after being shot in the stomach June 8 at a house in Christiansburg.

Today, Montgomery County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Robert Viar Jr. granted Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Eric Branscom's request to nolle prosequi two of the of four charges Linkous had faced — voluntary manslaughter and malicious wounding — in favor of the murder charge and a second charge of using a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Linkous' attorney, Jimmy Turk, said outside the courthouse that he waived his client's preliminary hearing because "I didn't want to put Edward's family through the trauma" of hearing an attorney "rehash" details of the shooting.

"This is not an intentional killing," Turk said. "This is an accidental killing."

The case was certified to the grand jury, which meets Oct. 12 and can decide whether to indict Linkous on the charges.