NATCHEZ — The court date for the man accused of accidentally fatally shooting his 13-year-old brother on Nov. 28 was continued Tuesday until Jan. 25 at Adams County Justice Court.

Justice Court Judge Charlie Vess said both the prosecution and the defense were given a continuance so they could continue to work out the details to the case.

“There is still the issue of a stolen firearm to deal with, and we just want to give them a few extra days to look over everything,” Vess said. “There is still a chance this could go to a grand jury.”

Preston Bostic, 18, was arrested in November for negligent manslaughter after confessing to accidentally shooting his brother, Juwayni Bostic, at their house.

Preston also received an additional charge of possession of a stolen firearm after Adams County Sheriff’s Office investigators concluded the 9 mm handgun that delivered the fatal bullet was stolen from a local pawnshop.

Bostic told investigators that Juwayni was the one who stole the gun.

Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield said another Bostic child told investigators during an interview that the 9 mm in question had been hidden in a refrigerator in the backyard of the residence at 73-A Pinemount Road.

Investigators noticed the serial number on the weapon appeared to be scratched out by someone, and Preston eventually confessed to investigators that Juwayni recently stole the gun.

Mayfield said Preston learned his brother stole the gun the morning of the shooting.

Mayfield also said he believes Preston or one of the siblings hid the gun because they knew it was stolen.

No reports of a stolen gun were made to ACSO, probably because the owners had not noticed it was missing, Mayfield said.

Mayfield said Preston was “playing around” when the shooting occurred and told investigators he did not know the gun was loaded.

Investigators found the weapon’s magazine contained more bullets when they recovered it after the incident, Mayfield said.

Preston is currently being held on a $275,000 bond for the two charges.

Vess said if the case makes it to a grand jury, the bond could be lowered.