A Coweta County builder is in jail charged with murder after authorities say he shot one of his own subcontractors he mistook for a copper thief early Saturday morning.

Richard Jason Veitch, 28, maintains it was unintentional, but on Monday a magistrate judge ruled against reducing the murder charge against him to involuntary manslaughter.

Veitch said he believed he was stopping a trio of thieves who had come to steal copper from one of his unfinished homes in Moreland, south of Newnan. But the men were there to install drywall.

Gaston Gonzalez, of Norcross, was killed when deputies say Veitch twice jabbed a gun into the man's neck and it went off. He died en route to an area hospital, said Coweta County Sheriff Mike Yeager, who called the incident "very unfortunate and tragic."

"This is a prime example of why people shouldn't take the law into their own hands."

Veitch's attorney, Ron Harwell, said his client's version of events differs from the official account but would not elaborate.

The builder, who also is a part-time minister at Happy Valley Baptist Church in Newnan, had reported several incidents of copper theft at homes in the same neighborhood as his lot in Moreland. Copper theft has been on the rise in the metro area because the price scrap copper brings is escalating.

The latest incident, Yeager said, was reported Friday morning. That night, deputies say, Veitch was staking out his unfinished home when he spotted a truck driving onto the property.

Veitch told deputies he didn't recognize the men.

He then called 911, Yeager said, reporting a burglary in progress. Deputies were dispatched, but while they were en route, they were informed of a second call from Veitch about the shooting.

The sheriff said Gonzalez didn't speak English and didn't understand Veitch's orders to put his hands in the air.

"That's when the individual [Veitch] began poking him [Gonzalez], and the firearm discharged," Yeager said.

The men, all of whom live in Norcross, worked together and planned on spending the night at the house to save the cost of gas and the two-hour commute home to Gwinnett.

"This wasn't unusual for them," said Yeager. Coweta deputies corroborated their story.

Attorney Harwell said he is confident Veitch, who is married with a young son, will eventually be exonerated.

"He's one of the finest people I know," said his attorney. Veitch offered spiritual guidance to Harwell after his mother died two years ago.

Harwell said he was disappointed but not surprised that the felony murder charge wasn't reduced.

"Everyone seems to posture for the cameras," he said. "And now you have a decent man sitting in jail."

Attempts to reach Veitch's wife and Gonzalez's cousin, who witnessed the shooting, were unsuccessful.