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Charges Dismissed Against Hunter

By Joel Hardy

12/10/2013

(KAIR)--An Atchison County hunter who accidentally shot an elk on the first day of deer hunting season last week will not face any further legal trouble. Atchison County Attorney Jerry Kuckelman says that the case was pretty clear, and he decided to dismiss the charges against Mike Penning just before noon Tuesday. Kuckleman further states that it was clear that Penning thought he was shooting a deer, and prosecuting him would not serve any useful purpose. He says that elk are not common in this area, and didn't think anyone would expect to encounter one.

Penning was out hunting in the late evening hours last Wednesday night when he shot the animal. Upon investigation, he realized that it may be an elk, and contacted the proper authorities. He was told by the game warden the following day that the misidentification was clearly a mistake.

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Comments

cs-surritt (12/11/2013 6:27 AM)

Charges should be persued. An elk looks nothing like a deer. By his own admision he is guilty of not knowing what he has shooting at. That is unexcusable. It may have been a cow, ohter hunter or a child doing chores that he shot. Reckless, stupid behaviour should not be rewarded regardless of who your buddies are!