Nov 22, 2006 6:25 pm US/Central
Charges: Hunter Drank Alcohol Before He Shot Teen
Aitkin, Minn. (AP) ―
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Steven John Ferguson
Aitkin County Sheriff's Department
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Brandon Lanie (File)
Photo from Matthew Lubben
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.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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