A 20-year-old Swanton man is due to be sentenced next month for his manslaughter conviction in the death of a farmer shot to death while he sat in his tractor.
A Franklin County jury found Collin Viens guilty of the crime nearly two years after the fatal shooting of St. Albans Town farmer Rejean Lussier.
Police charged that Viens, a first-time hunter, fired recklessly at a tractor in a corn field without knowing Lussier was in the cab. Viens maintained it was an accident.
A first trial ended in a mistrial because the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict, and a second trial found Viens guilty of manslaughter.
Sentencing is schedule for Nov.9