Richard A. Paddon Jr. was found not guilty of third-degree assault. Another charge, third-degree reckless endangerment, was dropped by County Judge Richard C. Giardino.Hunters especially should be aware of the 4 Rules of Gun Safety. In order to accomplish a stunt like this, at least two of the Rules had to be violated. How in the world a jury could exonerate someone for this is beyond me.
Paddon was indicted by a grand jury in April on charges that he accidentally shot Dale S. Gray Jr. while hunting wild turkey in an open field at 162 Hill Road in Ephratah on May 14, 2011.
Police said Paddon fired a 12-gauge shotgun and struck Gray in the back and head.
"The jury did a good job looking at the evidence,"? Horan said today. "At the end, they agreed it was an accident - it certainly was an unfortunate incident."
Negligence with guns is not taken seriously enough. It should not be excused by simply calling it an "accident."
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