AUGUSTA, Maine — A Windham man accused of killing a fellow hunter in an accident last November pleaded guilty to manslaughter Thursday morning.
William Briggs, 62, was sentenced to three years in prison with all but 45 days suspended and four years probation, the Maine Warden Service said in a statement.
Briggs will also perform 500 hours of community service with an emphasis on hunter education and safety.
Briggs was hunting near the Hogfat Hill Road in Sebago when he failed to properly identify his target and shot and killed Kolofsky. An investigation determined Briggs mistook Kolofsky for a deer.
Briggs also faces a minimum 10-year suspension of his hunting license as a result of the conviction.
Couldn’t you refer to the victim by his first and last name?
Really? 45 days? That’s it? I understand that this was not intentional but a man is dead and a family is grieving. Seems as if the sentence should have been a little more severe.
As if this man is not punishing himself enough for what he has done. Prison is a place that we send people who are not safe to be around our community. We don’t just send people to prison indefintely because of accidents. The community service will remind this man daily of what he did.
It was an accident.
He killed a person because he was being irresponsible should have got life.
If you believe that then move to Iran.
It wasn’t an accident, it was an “on purpose”. The gun didn’t go off by itself. The trigger was deliberately pulled, the “target” not identified, and the result is this man’s death.
45 day’s for a man’s life guess life is not worth too much anymore. First Rule Of Hunting Know What You Are Shooting Before You Pull The Trigger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do not know the man or the exact circumstances of the event……but Im sure it will haunt him for the rest of his life.
It seems to me that, here in Maine life has become worthless. The headlines in BDN seem to read that someone got no time for killing someone in some sort of ” accident” or another that involves OUI, driving to endanger or shooting without identifing your target. Each type of incident is caused by someone being careless and ends with a judge being careless in the sentencing. What’s up with that?