The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that a hunter who shoots and injures someone because he or she didn’t properly identify the target can face an aggravated assault charge.
In a case arising out of Lamoille County, the court upheld the aggravated assault conviction of Eric Patch Junior, who was out partridge hunting in November of 2006 when he saw movement in a tree, fired his 12-gauge shotgun and hit a deer hunter.
Patch sought dismissal and then acquittal on the charge, saying the state did not prove he intended to harm the victim.
The high court found that intent wasn’t a necessary component of the crime, and that the recklessness of firing without being sure of the target was sufficient.