This is why we run a dry deer camp.



Man who shot Lanie had been drinking


A Maplewood man had been drinking alcohol before he mistook a teenage boy for a deer and fatally shot him, a prosecutor said in court.

Steven John Ferguson, 45, who was arraigned on second-degree manslaughter charges Tuesday in Aitkin County District Court, told authorities he thought he had seen brown deer hide through a thicket near his deer stand before twice firing his rifle, according to a criminal complaint.

Authorities said the second shot likely struck Brandon Mitchell Lanie in the head, killing the 14-year-old. Lanie, who was a ninth-grader at Buffalo High School, was wearing blaze orange clothes and a camouflage baseball cap.

Lanie was hunting with a group just north of Mille Lacs Lake.

According to the complaint, Ferguson called police around 5 p.m. Saturday after discovering he had shot Brandon. He said he fired twice after hearing leaves crunch and seeing something brown move through the thickets. He said Brandon had brown hair that looked like a deer's back.

In court Tuesday, prosecutor Lisa R. Rakotz said that Ferguson admitted that he had been drinking alcohol Saturday, which was confirmed by a witness. The witness said Ferguson has had several drunken-driving convictions -- state records show about five since 1993 -- and that his driver's license was conditional upon not drinking.

Ferguson's attorney, Ryan Garry, said after the hearing that Ferguson, who posted bail, sent his "deepest regards and sympathy to the family" of the victim. "It was a horrific, tragic accident," Garry said.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

Accident my ass!
How about neglegent homicide?

This is why it should also be illegal to hunt drunk. It is also why, after a couple of violations, one should lose one's priviledges to drive or hunt FOREVER.

it is illegal to drink and hunt in minnesota.

This is the type of incident that stains our sport’s image. Anyone who fires at an unknown target is committing a despicable act that affects all of us. Crunching leaves and a patch of brown hair is not a viable target. These idiots that are so zealous as to take such risk are enemies within our own ranks.

I just don't buy the guys story. Even if he saw the boys "patch of brown hair" the boy had a blaze orange coat on. The blaze orange coat had a collar that was up around the boys neck.

Unbelieveable!

I have to weigh in a say two things . . .
This is NOT an accident, and accident is the result of a negligent discharge of a firearm.
Aiming and firing on a target is a wilfull act thereforefor an act like this with the results of the actions it should be elevated to the highest legal level of violation of law.

Alcohol and guns don't mix. Plain and simple

In Texas I think he would be charged with criminally negligent homicide. Clearly this was no accident and given the killer's prior record, he should probably do some serious prison time.

This is horrible, inexcusable, and I hope they through the book at him. This man will have the rest of his life to contemplate the things he did wrong that led up this unfortunate event and I hope he gets to spent most of this time in prison.

We can talk punishment here. We can decry
this man's inexcusable actions, and denounce
alcohol associated with guns.

The sad thing is that this lad is gone, permanently. He will not appear in another episode next week like on TV or in the movies.

He will never know LIFE. And there is nothing that can undo this! Sad. Very sad.