BELFAST, Maine — A young man accused of shooting his best friend to death last February in a farmhouse on a country road in Knox will be tried this week for manslaughter at Waldo County Superior Court in Belfast.
Luke Bryant, 20, of Knox, could face up to 30 years in prison if a jury convicts him of the Class A manslaughter charge, according to his court-appointed attorney, Steven Peterson of Rockport.
“We’re contending it was not manslaughter — it was just a tragic accident that happened,” Peterson said Thursday.
The jury will be selected Monday for the trial, which is expected to begin Tuesday and last through the end of the week. Assistant Maine Attorney General Leane Zainea will prosecute the case.
According to a police affidavit filed after the fatal shooting, Bryant and 19-year-old Tyler Seaney were in Bryant’s apartment the evening of Feb. 19, 2011 along with Seaney’s then-17-year-old girlfriend, Whitney Canfield.
Seaney, who lived in both Glenburn and Belfast, was waiting to start basic training for the U.S. Army.
Canfield told police later that night that the two young men liked to play a game that entailed them pointing guns at one another in order to scare each other.
A little bit before 7 p.m., Bryant was reportedly waiting for Seaney to exit the bathroom and had aimed a Mossberg Model 500 A shotgun at the bathroom door. He told police later that he had meant to scare his friend by “dry-firing” the shotgun, or pulling the trigger of an unloaded gun to make a clicking sound.
But the gun was in fact loaded with pellets, which ripped through Seaney’s neck, according to the affidavit.
Canfield, who was reportedly not a witness to the shooting, heard a bang, and then Bryant ran down the hallway toward her.
“You gotta come here, I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was loaded,” he allegedly told her, according to Maine State Police Detective Jason Andrews’ affidavit.
He called 911 and told the dispatcher he had accidentally shot Seaney with a shotgun. He was performing CPR on his friend when police arrived at the remote farmhouse about 15 minutes later. Members of the Unity Volunteer Ambulance Corps pronounced Seaney dead at the scene.
In police interviews conducted in the days after the shooting, Bryant said he had wanted to “get Tyler back” for shooting him in the leg with an Airsoft gun earlier that day, according to the police affidavit.
He had initially told police that he had accidentally pulled the trigger on the shotgun and was not trying to scare Seaney.
Bryant was arrested days after the shooting and charged with manslaughter. He was released from jail in late February, 2011 after paying bail of $25,000 cash or $100,000 surety.
“The gun discharged. His best friend died because of it,” Peterson said. “It’s our position it’s not criminal negligence.”
Zainea chose not to speak with the Bangor Daily News ahead of the trial.
I guess that kid never watched Eddie Eagle growing up… Jeesh… If you want to play with guns, get one of the paintball or airsoft variety. There’s no need to “dry fire” guns at people. Just idiotic from the very beginning. Im not sure how either of them thought that sorta activity was a good idea. Ever. Kids these days…
It would seem an accident with a gun would happen when you were using it for the purpose it is intended for — hunting, target practicing, etc…or maybe while cleaning it. But, to say it was an accident when you pointed it at a person while in a house and pulled the trigger is kinda hard to comprehend as being an accident. I’m sure he didn’t mean to shoot his friend but he did and now he’ll have to see where that leads him. You can’t just play with a weapon that can and did kill someone then think you can walk away like a human life didn’t matter — Tyler’s life was worth something by letting this man walk away would be devaluing another human life. I’m glad they’re persuing the case although 30 years seems a bit much for a 19 year old who didn’t really mean to kill someone…what does someone get when they kill someone in a car accident (about 3 to 7 years).
It sounds like criminal negligence to me. He was old enough and it appears he had enough firearms knowledge that he should know better.
A good chance to make an example here..Lotsa ‘country kids’,bored,not too smart and with guns..This could maybe make a difference?
What a sad story!
The only good thing that may come of this is the youthfull understanding that “EVERY” gun is loaded!
Who in their right mind would play with guns like that? Horrible story, horrible event.
Ignorance is not above the law. I don’t care if the gun was or wasn’t suppose to be loaded. I think 30 years is plenty of time to do some growing up.
No body grows up in prison. Admit it! You just want him to waste his life in prison because it makes you feel powerful, or right. And in thirty years when he’s beaten down, gone insane, and truly hates humanity. You’ll just hope he’s beaten down enough not to take his anger out on society, or you. That time it won’t be an accident. Maybe education and a slow regimen of forgiveness as he works his way through a tight probation is a more intelligent reaction to such a horrible event. But then we are humans with human emotions aren’t we? Why would we do that, it’s not like someone died trying to teach us that forgiveness is the best way to find peace.
This is a horrible event in many peoples live that will echo through many peoples souls for lifetimes. It is going to hurt for a long time and take years for the scars to heal. Throwing someone in prison doesn’t help this process it only hinders it. Its a false sense of security, and a rash, base, and very human way of dealing with fear.
This “kid” lacked personal responsibility, and a good education concerning gun safety. He made a terrible choice which he will have to suffer though for years to come. No matter what we do him, he will still suffer. It’s our personal responsibility to make the best choices in this situation so that more harm is not done. We must create an environment that tells him and everyone around him that you should not have made terrible choice, but if you work with us we will help to show you how to make better choices, and someday when we trust you to make better choices we will give you a chance to be one of use again.
Or you can just lock him in prison, throw away the key, and just have us pay $40,000 for every human that makes a terrible mistake. I hope we can borrow some more money from China.
Everyone, please find a way to forgive, or we are all going to hell.
He grew up around guns, he changed his story several time before he decided to stick with this one. Who will help Tyler make better choices in his friends in the future. No one, this guy took away Tyler’s future. There is more to the story and hopefully a trial will bring it out.