Oct 4, 2007 11:29 pm US/Central
Hunter Convicted In Death Of Buffalo Teen
Aitkin, Minn. (AP) ―
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Deputies found Lanie, who was a ninth-grader at Buffalo High School, wearing a blaze orange coat and pants and a brown and green camouflage cap with a bill. (File)
Photo from Matthew Lubben
A jury convicted a Maplewood man Thursday of unintentional second-degree manslaughter for shooting and killing a 14-year-old boy he had mistaken for a deer in a state forest north of Lake Mille Lacs.
Steve Ferguson, 45, will be sentenced Nov. 19 in Aitkin County District Court in the death of Brandon Lanie of Buffalo. He faces one year in the workhouse and/or 10 years of probation.
"I think the woods will be a lot safer after this verdict," prosecutor Lisa Rakotz said. "Hunters have to know when they are hunting. They have a responsibility to be absolutely sure of their target."
Ferguson was hunting Nov. 18 when he shot Lanie from his deer stand. His cabin was near the boy's family cabin on the north shore of Lake Mille Lacs, and the two had gone goose hunting together earlier in the day.
Defense attorney Joe Tamburino argued that the shooting was a tragic accident, but not criminal negligence.
In his testimony, Ferguson said he thought he had shot a deer, then left his hunting stand and realized he had shot a person.
"The first thing I saw was the boot and leg," he said. "I was pretty scared because I thought to myself, 'It's a man. Then when I found it was Brandon I was pretty upset. It didn't seem real. It shocked me."
Deputies found Lanie, who was a ninth-grader at Buffalo High School, wearing a blaze orange coat and pants and a brown and green camouflage cap with a bill.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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