Teen hunter sentenced for killing hiker
Posted on 07/11/2009 7:11:10 PM PDT by JoeProBono
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – A 15-year-old boy found guilty of second-degree manslaughter for shooting and killing a woman he mistook as a bear will spend 30 days in juvenile detention.
According to investigators, Tyler Kales, who was 14 at the time, was bear hunting with his older brother Aug. 2, 2008 on Sauk Mountain in rural Skagit County, near Rockport.
He says in the fog that shrouded the mountain that day, he mistook 54-year-old Pamela Almli for a bear and fired a shot. The bullet struck her in the head, killing her.
Kales was found guilty last month of second-degree manslaughter. The judge acquitted him of first-degree manslaughter, finding he did not act recklessly However, the judge said firing on an outline in the fog from 150 yards away wasn’t a hunting accident.
“You ignored and broke all the rules. You have special responsibilities when you handle a gun and you didn’t follow through,” said Gail Blacker, Almli’s sister, at Kales’ sentencing Thursday.
Almli was hiking with a friend on the Sauk Mountain trail when Kales’ bullet hit her.
Teen hunter sentenced for killing hiker
Never EVER shoot unless you’re sure.
30 days is a farce.
I can’t imagine how 30 days is an appropriate sentence. Either he’s responsible in the death or he is not. If he is, it’s ridiculously short. If he’s not, why would he have to spend any time in jail at all?
30 days is little comfort to her husband and children. There is no justice in this sad situation.
I think the appropriate punishment would be to send him out into the woods in bear season in a bear costume.
You also wanna hang every kid that ever had a car wreck?
Why?
I’m all in favor of teaching kids to use guns, but 14 is really too young to be wandering around in the woods with a gun and choosing your own targets. The older brother who was with him was also under 18.
Not even slightly analogous.
He fired at a shape in the fog and ended a human life through his own GROSS negligence.
I think there should also be a civil penalty for his parent(s) who thought this fourteen year old was competent to handle firearms. They also were grossly negligent as obviously mommy’s little moron was not competent.
His life as a juvenile should be over. He should get a second chance at life as an adult, which is a lot more than his victim will ever get.
30 days is about right.....
but this boy should not be allowed to hunt for 15yrs minimum.....
this was an accident...a careless, stupid act, but an accident just the same.
I regularly hunted when I was 14. As a matter of fact, I was in the woods almost every day by the time I was 14 and I was always armed. I also didn’t shoot at anything I couldn’t see well enough to known what the heck I was shooting at.
However, 2 imbeciles did mistake me for a deer and put 2 shots into a tree next to me when I was 15. They had to be over 30 years old and it didn’t prevent their stupidity.
I laid on the forest floor until one of the dimbulbs said something about running up and putting another shot into him (me). I then responded by firing my shotgun and yelling to “come and get me”. That was when they realized that they were firing on a person and not a deer. And I was wearing that orange vest also.
One said “hey Charlie, its a human” and they ran off. Age alone doesn’t make one responsible with weapons.
He should be incarcerated until a legal adult.
His parents should be sued into oblivion for providing a firearm to mommies little moron without ANY adult supervision.
The entire family should never hunt again. They have proven themselves negligent, grossly incompetent, reckless, and idiotic.
You are responsible for EVERY bullet that comes off your muzzle right or wrong.
No, age alone doesn’t make a person behave responsibly, but the vast majority of adolescents are flaky by nature — their hormones are doing new and wacky things, and their brains haven’t physiologically matured yet. There’s just no good reason for a kid this age to be out hunting without adult supervision.
I lived in Mt. Vernon for several years, graduated from high school there and all I can say is there were plenty of stupid people living there and throughout Skagit county, so this story does not surprise me.
Prayers for the woman and her family.
Wow, I graduated from MT Vernon High too, and although there may be plenty of stupid people every where, I wonder why you think this place hass any more than anywhere else?
At least there are still people here who want to hunt and are teaching their kids that guns aren’t evil unto themselves.
Accidents happen and most start with a stupid decision on the part of someone. It is a tragedy but tragedies also happen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.