Second County Hunting Accident Reported In Three Days

PANAMA-For the second time this week, a  hunting accident was reported according to the County Sheriff’s Office.

Marvin C. Miller, an Ohio man, reportedly struck and disabled a pick-up truck, driven by PA man Robert Merritt, with a bullet Friday morning on an access road to the Willsie Road State Lands.

A joint investigation by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and the New York State Environmental Conservation Police Agency reportedly  revealed Miller was hunting on state lands in the area of Snake Forest Road when he mistakenly took the brown colored pick-up truck to be that of a deer.

Miller allegedly fired one round from his 7mm high powered scoped rifle striking the truck in the driver’s side front fender just a few feet from where the occupants were in the vehicle. Neither were reportedly injured. The round went through the engine compartment, totally disabling the truck.

Miller did reportedly exit the woods to check on the status of the occupants. Miller was charged with discharging a firearm across a public roadway, and Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree. He was arraigned in the town of Sherman Court and released after posting bail.

The New York State Environmental Conservation Police Agency will return to the site of the incident on Saturday to continue their investigation, and additional charges are pending.

43-year-old Sherman woman, Rosemary Billquist, reportedly sustained a fatal gunshot wound Wednesday evening in what was deemed by the Sheriff’s Office as an accident.

1 Comment

  1. Accident? Shooting a person, resulting in death, after dark and it was a hunting accident? Hunting after dark is illegal. This may have been unintentional, but it wasn’t hunting.

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