Vikram Virk, 27, confessed to shooting Jaskaran Singh in the head while playing the deadly game in Virk's car, CBS News quoted police as saying.
Singh was shot in the parking lot of a Red Roof Inn, police said.
Virk allegedly told police that he handed Singh a handgun on Saturday that Virk believed he had emptied. Singh then pulled the trigger twice while pointing it at Virk, according to police.
"The suspect then took the gun and pointed it at (Singh) and pulled the trigger one time and the gun did not fire. The suspect then pulled the trigger a second time and the gun fired, striking the complainant in the left temple," a detective wrote in the arrest affidavit for Virk.
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Virk initially said Singh shot himself, according to police, but during questioning allegedly admitted that he killed his friend.
Police have charged Virk with manslaughter. He is being held on USD 1,50,000 bond. Further investigations were underway.
Russian roulette is the practice of loading a bullet into one chamber of a revolver, spinning the cylinder, and then pulling the trigger while pointing the gun at one's own head.