Charges withdrawn in hunting death

[HTHM]

I am not sure how I feel about this. 300 yards with a .270 not the most careful of shots in my opinion.

 

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5539994-ex-nhler-stan-jonathan-s-charges-dropped-in-tragic-hunting-death/

 

The criminal charges against former NHL player Stan Jonathan in the hunting death of Peter Kosid have been withdrawn.

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Crown attorney George Orsini told the Superior Court of Justice in Brantford on Thursday that his office was withdrawing the charges of criminal negligence causing death and careless use of a firearm against the retired Boston Bruin and Six Nations hockey star.

Jonathan, 59, was not present for the announcement.

Orsini said that on Nov. 11, 2012, Jonathan was hunting with his brother on Six Nations land near Third Line Road, where he spotted what he believed to be a deer from 300 yards away.

Using a .270 Weatherby Magnum Mark V, a high-powered rifle, Jonathan took a single shot.

The brothers found Jonathan's target and realized it was actually a man wearing camouflage.

Orsini said the brothers called 9-1-1 and said a prayer for the deceased man, who was later identified as Kosid, a Hamilton resident who was bow hunting on a friend's land.

Kosid was shot in the back at approximately 8 a.m.

Six Nations Police arrested and charged Jonathan on Nov. 14, 2012.

"There is no question Mr. Jonathan thought he was shooting at a deer," Orsini said.

Orsini said that after further case review, there isn't sufficient evidence to prove the criminal charges.

Justice Alan Whitten said the circumstances of the shooting are "very tragic," but he can understand the Crown attorney's decision to withdraw the charges.

Kosid, 28, was engaged to be married at the time of his death. His son was eight months old when he passed away.

Edited April 3, 2015 by HTHM

[dave524]

I used to teach the safety course for beginning hunters back in the seventies to get their licence , that is just wrong. 300 yds with a 270 is very doable , that is not a problem. Probably the same forces at work here as in the handling of the Nipissing Ghost nets

[woodenboater]

This is just so wrong, hunter is criminally responsible no matter how you cut it. I hope the family nails the guy's backside in a civil suit.

[lew]

Been a long time since I did any hunting, but aren't you required by law to wear orange clothing while deer hunting ??

 

If so, shouldn't the bow hunter have also been wearing orange during deer season rather than camouflage no matter what he's hunting or am I missing something here.

 

Not defending the shooter, just curious about the clothing.

Edited April 3, 2015 by lew

[Rizzo]

Man what a tragedy.

[kickingfrog]

Been a long time since I did any hunting, but aren't you required by law to wear orange clothing while deer hunting ??

 

If so, shouldn't the bow hunter have also been wearing orange during deer season rather than camouflage no matter what he's hunting or am I missing something here.

 

Not defending the shooter, just curious about the clothing.

 

Depends on the season, don't know those circumstances with this case.

[woodenboater]

an earlier story with some more info.

 

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/2243173--one-careless-shot-and-my-husband-is-taken-away-from-me-/

[smitty55]

Bottom line.You are supposed to be sure of your target. A human walks upright, a deer is on all fours. Kind of hard to mistake that. At the very least it should be careless use of a firearm. There are other forces at work here I would think. What a shame.

Cheers

[Old Ironmaker]

If half of the rumours that have been started concerning this tragedy are true I can't see why the crown didn't have a case. If Mr. Kosid's family wins a wrongful death suit there is nothing to recover from Stan Jonathan. He was and still is living a meager lifestyle on 6 Nations and he appears to have no means of support. It's sad all around, I have empathy for both families. If you saw him you would never recognize him from his glory days. He should never had a gun in his hands that morning. Enuff said.

[dave524]

Been a long time since I did any hunting, but aren't you required by law to wear orange clothing while deer hunting ??

 

If so, shouldn't the bow hunter have also been wearing orange during deer season rather than camouflage no matter what he's hunting or am I missing something here.

 

Not defending the shooter, just curious about the clothing.

 

Lew, blaze orange is not required during the bow season. Really there is no gun season in the area that allows a .270 rifle, there is a controlled hunter number/lottery season of 5 days that allows shotguns and muzzleloaders in the area. That said, we are talking First Nations here and they have their own set of rules, when it comes to methods, season and limits.

 

Edit: I don't believe the regular shotgun season was open at the time so the guy was legal. Actually they suspend the archery season for the duration of the legal gun hunt so there are not archers and gun hunters in the field at the same time.

Edited April 4, 2015 by dave524

[lew]

Thanks Dave, as I said I'm not a hunter but thought deer season was the 1st 2 weeks of November and this shooting happened Nov 11.

 

Just seems odd to me that when your hunting deer with a gun you need to wear orange so other hunters can see you and you don't get shot, yet when your hunting deer with a bow you wear camouflage to become less visible when there's hunters that shoot at every noise they hear.

 

I think I'll stick to chasing muskies, it's much safer.

Edited April 4, 2015 by lew

[Old Ironmaker]

It all depends who you are fishing with Lew. I've never hunted but I guess there are some rules that don't apply on the rez. Johnathan was hunting from the passenger seat of a truck and was standing on a county road when he let the shot go. That is not a rumour it was reported in our weekly rag here. Just sad.

[lew]

My thinking was just that if the bow hunter was wearing orange, the shooter may have realized he wasn't a deer, but who knows ??

[Old Ironmaker]

It is bull.

[Mister G]

My thinking was just that if the bow hunter was wearing orange, the shooter may have realized he wasn't a deer, but who knows ??

Wearing orange would of definitely made a difference, however bow hunters need to wear camo to get close enough for a quality shot.

 

The problem in this case is someone else hunting big game with a firearm during the bow season. In every area I have ever hunted this is NOT allowed for the safety of the bow hunter.

 

As someone else already mentioned you MUST ID your target at all times before pulling that trigger. So again the shooter is liable here. Now if Jonathan was allowed by Six Nation law to hunt as he did and didn't break any laws whatsoever, then his girl friend should be suing Six Nation for irresponsible laws/codes that led to the death of Kosid and Jonathan for whatever her lawyer can get.

 

BTW hunting as proven by stats is much safer then fishing or even riding a bike.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Mister G

[Beavertail]

Absolutely brutal decision if he gets off. If you can't positively ID your target don't pull the trigger, simple as that. Some things are black and white. This guy sees "something" moving at 300yards and shoots, incredibly irresponsible and his carelessness costs another man's life. Oops, I thought it was deer doesn't cut it.

[chris.brock]

Like others said, pulling the trigger without knowing what you're shooting at deserves some sort of punishment, especially since a young guy ended up dead. Very sad story.

 

Horse pooh in my opinion.

[pics]

The turtle island news is reporting that it was pretty much the bow hunters fault. " he was bow hunting out of season and not wearing hunter orange so the gun hunter didn't expect him to be there " it would seem that the story is a bit twisted on the six nations side. What some have said is that Stan and his friend were aware that there was a white bow hunter that they took exception to it and intended the shot to be a warning. The question I have is why is it OK to use a rifle on such a populated reserve and why is it acceptable to shoot from a vehicle? Never mind that the shooter was not wearing orange.. if he didn't have enough for a lawyer, someone else did because he had one of the best available.. things work differently on the reserve and you bet there's more to the story than what we've heard..

[bare foot wader]

just awful, I'll keep my less than politically correct comments to myself.....it's one thing to lose a loved one to an incident like this, but to also not have justice served, can't imagine that type of pain

[Beavertail]

Pics - wow, I don't know what to say about that article, even if only half of it is true. To be honest, I don't want to know anymore details about this story...makes my stomach turn.

[G.mech]

In the article in today's paper it says that the shooter claims his bullet went through a deer before it killed the hunter. They never found a deer though....:you be the judge.

 

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5541439-fatal-bullet-hit-deer-before-killing-man-lawyer-says/

Edited April 7, 2015 by G.mech

[HTHM]

Until they can show DNA from the deer off the bullet I will take that claim with a barrel of salt.

[Old Ironmaker]

Pic, I know you live close to 6 Nations and have an opinion concerning the goings on since 06' and the DCE fiasco as do I. But I don't think this is the time or place for rumor. I'm guilty of innuendo on page 1 here when I said he should not have had a gun that morning, I don't know that for certain.

 

I did not see the latest Turtle Island news, do you have a link where we can read it. I have heard all the rumors concerning this shooting and some are plausible and some purely outlandish. I will not repeat them here because they are just that, rumor and speculation. I don't believe everything written in the Turtle Island newspaper, same as other newspapers, they all have an agenda but not as blatant as Turtle Islands.

 

What Paquette said in the Spec article about a witness seeing a Deer that wasn't acting normal (and this is the best of ridiculous) it matched the description of the Deer that Jonathan claimed to shoot. How many descriptions of deer don't match others, it was a buck a doe or a fawn, that's it. Maybe missing a piece of the rack, maybe, can one see details from 300 yds?

 

I think and pray politics did NOT play a role in the crowns decision not to prosecute. I would love to see all the evidence first hand. If it was a political decision we are doomed as a nation as it would prove beyond a reasonable doubt we have a 2 tier justice systemin this country.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Old Ironmaker

[BillM]

lol @ the bullet going through a deer then into the bow hunter.

[Old Ironmaker]

Can a bullet from that caliber weapon actually do that? Turtle Island news article I just read said the bullet travelled 375 meters, much further than 300 yards as first reported.

 

The latest article in the Turtle Island newspaper reports nothing different than the Specs report of the dropping of charges. A little more in depth but nothing more than that.