image description

Garrett Man Found Not Guilty At Bear Shooting Trial

October 6th, 2016 by WCBC Radio

A Garrett County man charged after shooting and wounding a sow bear at his home in May was found not guilty Thursday of hunting bear during a closed season. The trial took place in Garrett County District Court. David Stephen Wall, 53, told the Cumberland Times-News shortly after the incident near his Foster Road home on May 16 that he fired a .22 caliber rifle in an attempt to scare the bear from his porch, but unintentionally shot the animal in the spine, paralyzing it. "The judge ruled not guilty because there was no intent to harm the bear," said Candy Thomson, public information officer for the Maryland Natural Resources Police. Wall had been charged by NRP Officer Jessica Felsecker. The Cumberland Times-News, citing NRP sources, reported at the time that the bear, shot at night, was found still alive the next morning surrounded by three yearling bears. A biologist with the Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service euthanized the sow

Leave a Reply