Hunter charged with Homicide

[Poser]

‘Intentional discharge’ leads to rare criminal charges in Colorado death of hunter

Harry Watkins and Simon Howell had hunted together for several years in densely timbered, steep terrain outside Kremmling.

durangoherald.com

 

[def90]

This thread has been going on since November..

Hunter Fatally Shot Near Kremmling CO

Sad - https://kdvr.com/news/local/hunter-fatally-shot-near-kremmling/

www.rokslide.com

 

[Shrek]

That’s a tough one. Not sure if the charges are justified if the story given by the charged hunter is truthful.

 

[mike.adams.467]

A tragic death for sure, but it doesn’t seem that a homicide charge is warranted.


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[87TT]

Unfortunate but absolutely justified. A) He was negligent in that he didn't make sure of his target and line of fire. B) firing a gun is "likely" to cause death or injury if it hits some one. C) He pulled the trigger intentionally. The important thing is "NEGLIGENT". And he was.

 

[MattB]

Criminall negligent homicide. The thread title is misleading.

 

[Poser]

Criminall negligent homicide. The thread title is misleading.

Length of the charges didn’t fit the subject line very well.

 

[Sanchez]

Sounds like manslaughter to me.

A terrible accident, but 100 % an accident that is no different from an accidental discharge resulting in a fatality, or a sober person accidentally running a red light and killing someone. In all cases there is negligence with the same result.

 

[FLAK]

Thats a tough one. I dunno. Bad Deal for sure.

 

[Broomd]

Here's the problem, many of us are firm believers in law and order, and JUSTICE when a crime as been committed, but more and more we see prosecuters hellbent on making a name for themselves --pushing charges that are wholly unwarranted. I've read a bit about this incident, and we all know that sometimes the truth lies in the middle of the story. But I don't trust DA's or prosectuters much anymore. Most are attention seeking creeps....and no I've never had a run-in with the law.

 

[Michael54]

I feel bad for all involved. The guy should have been 100% sure before pulling the trigger. However people do seem to be way too lax in wearing their orange. Sorry but if im with a group that is split up and looking for wounded game i will always look like the great pumpkin. Also if the guy was next to the animal and it was ready to bolt why the hell didn't he shoot it. I've never once thought hey let me take off my orange and get next to a shot elk that isnt dead...there has to be more to this story. It's a senseless tragedy that gives the entire hunting community a black eye and has ruined 2 families forever...

 

[sndmn11]

How many of you would know what was on the ground immediately next to the body of a bedded animal?
How many of you walk down range at the rifle club or archery club and look behind every target stand/bale to ensure there isn't anyone there every single time you take your eyes off of it?
I have law enforcement experience in this county, and the DAs office from Oldham, to Barkey, to now Karzen all have a reputation for higher political aspirations. Their charging decisions and subsequent pressers fall in line with the notion that it is a stepping stone office where any publicity gets you one step closer to an appointment on the front range or I70 corridor.
Keep your orange or pink on, it probably would have saved this dude's life.

 

[87TT]

“No reasonable person fires a rifle at something without being 100% certain what they are shooting at, even more so if you know other people are in the area,” Karzen said. “It’s a gun, not a toy.”

 

[Shrek]

“No reasonable person fires a rifle at something without being 100% certain what they are shooting at, even more so if you know other people are in the area,” Karzen said. “It’s a gun, not a toy.”

The hunter had identified what he was shooting at. The elk was on the ground and apparently seemed to be trying to get up. The hunter who was shot had taken off his orange vest. My guess the elk appeared to be trying to get up because the victim was moving the head by the antler tips. I can see how very easily the shooter didn’t see his friend. The victims camouflage worked as intended. A hurried shot at a bull left little time to see the situation. I don’t see any criminal action.

 

[87TT]

If we are going to "guess" than did the victim really take off his vest and if so why would anyone do that? Maybe someone took it off post mortem? Or maybe he never had one on. So unless the victim was laying down behind the elk, he should have been visible. The hunter should have been sure before he fired period. Did he intend to shoot someone, no. But negligent, yes. My son at 12 years old decided not to shoot at his first buck because he knew we had our horses tied somewhere behind where the deer was standing. No excuse.
The guy was negligent and it caused a homicide, hence "Negligent homicide".
Manslaughter is a homicide.
Now do I think the guy needs to go to prison for life, no.

 

[Maverick1]

“No reasonable person fires a rifle at something without being 100% certain what they are shooting at, even more so if you know other people are in the area,” Karzen said. “It’s a gun, not a toy.”

That was an interesting remark from the District Attorney.

Rewording that, perhaps he could have said "No reasonable person tracking a wounded animal with a group of fellow hunters - with the aid of radios - fails to notify the other hunters they are approaching the downed animal, fails to share that they have indeed found the downed animal, removes their blaze orange outerwear, or kneels next to the downed animal."

In any event, a human being lost his life.

 

[Carpenterant]

This sucks for everyone. I won’t armchair qb it but it sucks.

 

[rayporter]

i dont know about other states but around here people hate orange and will take it off at any excuse.

pics---hell no,no orange in a pic. after dark and headed in they going to carry the orange. get to a pop up blind and off it comes.

i knew a guy that got a ticket for removing his vest in a tree stand and tied it over his head. he was pissed as hell.

 

[sndmn11]

If the account from the article is correct, I equate this to someone choosing to cross the street at night outside of a crosswalk. Drivers are trained to pay special attention to crosswalks, and their spidey senses go on alert when they see those big yellow signs or the white stripes across the roadway. The same for hunters with orange/pink/etc. On a regular basis drivers still hit people who choose to take on the risk of crossing outside of crosswalks, and they rarely come out alive. I had one call where someone dropped their beer while crossing on a non-lit roadway, and when they bent over to pick it up, the front bumper of an 80+ year old woman's Tahoe sent most of his brain into liquid and elsewhere. It wasn't the driver's fault, we ended up sending her off with Victim's Services for counseling, she was just doing what every other driver would have been doing when someone else chose to make a silly and mildly illegal decision to risk their own safety for convenience. Same thing here; hunter's in a visible clothing required season, are keeping an eye out for those specific visible articles of clothing. That is why only orange was allowed until recently in Colorado, pink was added a few years ago, and other high vis clothing is not. Hunters have been trained to look for orange, just as drivers are trained to watch for crosswalks, and anything outside of those alerting visual ques isn't given the same high concern.

 

[mike.adams.467]

Here's the problem, many of us are firm believers in law and order, and JUSTICE when a crime as been committed, but more and more we see prosecuters hellbent on making a name for themselves --pushing charges that are wholly unwarranted. I've read a bit about this incident, and we all know that sometimes the truth lies in the middle of the story. But I don't trust DA's or prosectuters much anymore. Most are attention seeking creeps....and no I've never had a run-in with the law.

Kamala Harris is the perfect example, or the woman prosecuting the home owners in St. Louis for defending their home from BLM rioters.


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