Woman Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter After Gun-Themed Polaroid Photo Shoot Ends with Photographer’s Death

A Las Vegas woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter after her photographer friend was shot dead as he was taking pictures on a Polaroid camera of her and a friend toting guns.

23-year-old photographer and model Mark Santiago Gaughan was shot dead on August 23 by a firearm that discharged while he was taking photos of his gun-toting friend Allysandra Blea and another woman. At the time of the incident, Gaughan was reported as Blea’s boyfriend but she has since maintained that he was a friend of her.

Police received a 911 call about an “accidental shooting” at 5 A:M that day, and when officers arrived on the scene in the Northwest Valley in Las Vegas, they found two Polaroid photos showing 20-year-old Blea with a firearm and the other girl holding a knife.

Police learned Gaughan was taking photos of two women when the firearm discharged, striking him. Gaughan died from a gunshot wound shortly afterward.

According to a report by 8NewsNow.com, Blea pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of kidnapping and involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of photographer Gaughan. Blea initially faced a charge of open murder with a deadly weapon. But she reportedly agreed to a plea deal that could result in a five-year sentence.

“She was adamant that she did not intentionally kill Mark,” detectives say, according to 8NewsNow.com.

Under the plea agreement, prosecutors say they would not oppose a concurrent sentence for the involuntary manslaughter conviction, meaning Blea could face a minimum of five years in prison. The kidnapping charge carries a mandatory five-year sentence. Her sentencing hearing is set for July 29, 2026, though the judge is not required to follow the agreement and may impose a longer term.

Investigators involved in the case also reportedly raised concerns about photographs shared on Blea’s social media accounts.

“There were several photographs of Allysandra holding various firearms (handguns, revolvers, and rifles) in different poses to include the firearm pressed against her head, against stuffed animals’ heads and shooting bottles at an unknown location,” detectives say.

Polaroids from Gaughan’s photo shoot reportedly showed one woman holding “a knife in her hand” and Blea “lying back [on the other woman], holding a black firearm that was pointed at her mouth with her finger on the trigger.” Another photo showed Blea “holding the firearm in her left hand with her finger on the trigger.”