STARKS, Maine — A man shot on his property in Starks was listed in serious condition at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston on Thursday evening, a nursing supervisor said.
Before 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Maine State Police, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department and the Maine Warden Service responded to a report of a non-hunting-related shooting in Starks.
Kerry Hebert, who is the property owner, was shot near the intersection of Mount Hunger and Mayhew Roads, said Somerset County Chief Deputy Dale Lancaster on Wednesday. He described Hebert as being in his late 50s.
“What I will tell you is that this is our case,” Lancaster said on Wednesday. “There were hunters involved, and there was a landowner involved. There were gentlemen involved that were hunting, [but] this was not a hunting accident.”
Hebert was flown to CMMC on Wednesday.
As of late Wednesday night, no one had been charged in connection with the shooting, Lancaster said. He said that the information gathered during the investigation will be presented to the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office, which will determine if charges will be filed.
Lancaster could not be reached for comment on Thursday, nor could a spokesman for the district attorney’s office.
Doug Rafferty, spokesman for the Maine Warden Service, also said Wednesday night that the incident was not hunting-related.
“It’s an assault, not a hunting accident,” Rafferty said.
BDN writer Dawn Gagnon contributed to this report.
1 ) A man shot on his property in Starks was listed in serious condition at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston on Thursday evening,
2 ) “this was not a hunting accident.”
3 ) “no one had been charged in connection with the shooting ”
What !?!
This just does not add up, even if someone is claiming it was an accidental discharge of a weapon .
Hunters need to held to a higher standard or the whole “industry” will suffer.
You certainly made a mess of that summary. An accidental discharge? Good God man, it clearly states it was an assault!
So you do agree with with my point: ” even if SOMEONE IS CLAIMING it was an accidental discharge of a weapon” it stinks like lobster bait that no one is charged, yet, only you do not know you own mind enough to just admit you agree, I guess.
holy smokes pal, you need some help with english…
ESL at the local Community College can only do so much.
Funny dude!
Not.
Reread the article. It was an assault.
Just because they know what happened, doesn’t mean they have all the evidence they need to make an arrest. They may be waiting until they’ve had a chance to talk to the victim. Patience is what we need right now.
Thank you for stating the obvious.
It must not have been that obvious to the person who asked why no charges had been filed yet.
Sorry if my remark came out as snark. I didn’t mean it to be. I’m the one who gave you the like.
go to the pressherald they have the story in a nutshell the guy asked them not to hunt on his property and the two hunters assaulted him, then one guy shot him in the stomach
3 days later and still no account of what happend? Great reporting though.
Here is more info:
http://www.pressherald.com/news/starks-landowner-shot_2012-10-31.html
It sounds like a hunting incident, not a hunting accident, if this report is accurate.
So if a citizen gets shot by someone he tells to get off his property, the police do not have probable cause for an aggravated assault arrest? Something stinks in STARKS………….
That would be the weed.
At the very least, there was an assault with a deadly weapon. It is unbelievable that the gray bar motel didn’t have at least one occupant. The other hunters are also accomplices. According to reports, Hebert was struck in the midsection with the butt end of the rifle. He was on his own property. How does this incident not warrant incarceration(s)?
Why not let the people that are gathering the facts decide? I can think of a bunch of ways that this incident could have occured but I have no idea what really happened. Also what the Press Herald wrote was a description of the events as told by the victim to a friend. Not exactly hard facts. So lets not tar and feather the hunter yet.
P.S. How do you get shot in the midsection if you are being hit with the butt of the gun in the midsection(please note the bullets come out the muzzle on the other end of the gun)?
Although I disagree with shooting anyone unless it’s self defense I can’t help but wonder if this property that these guy’s wanted to hunt was in any way related to the yearly hemp fest .
Dick Cheney was “hunting” in Starks?
it is 2012.Cheney hunting jokes are a little out of date. the truth is that this was obama’s attempt to rescue the Libyan ambassador.Belgrade,Benghazi,sometimes my gps messes up too…..
Yeah you’ll get a lot of mileage with that one. Sure you will. Don’t quit your day job. You’ll starve on the comedy act.
Struck a nerve,huh? you probably think the cheney comment is witty.
Not at all. I’m just letting me know you know how pathetic your attempt at humor is old chap.
my wife would agree with you.please don’t tell her
my wife would agree with you.
http://www.kjonline.com/news/shooting-details-unclear_2012-11-01.htm a bit more info in this article….
Is his property Posted for No Hunting? Not much to read.
A “No Hunting” sign posted by a land owner has no legal significance. Only the State of Maine has the authority ban hunting according to the Maine Supreme Court. Another law that you and others should be made aware of is the so-called Great Ponds Act that was passed in 1974. This law allows the trespass by foot on “unimproved” property to access or egress a great pond. And while you are legally trespassing on the unimproved property, a person can possess a firearm or any other implement that is legal to possess. Please understand, (especialy landowners) tat we the people own the waters and the land beneath the waters of all ponds 10 acres or more and we have the legal right to trespass on your unimproved land to access the land and water that we the people own. This issue has also been before the Maine Supreme Court. I don’t want to sound like a “know all” but this is an issue that I have been very involved with legally for about 35 years. And finally, landowners should realize that IF they prevent someone from trespassing on their “unimproved” property, they can be sued by the legal trespasser or prosecuted civilly or criminally by the Attorney General’s office. And finally, “unimproved” property means natural woods and forests. Hunters please take notice: Fields are considered “improved” property.
Many thanks for all your information. Seems I am in the woods too long and seem to have missed the news that you just shared. This got my attention and I will follow up on this. Apparently we pay taxes for little in return. Unimproved land,in the Great Ponds Act is a slap at every land owner. How are we to feel safe on our own property during hunting season? What ever happened to civil respect? This has truely got me mad. I will not be out stacking wood tomorrow and especially Mon. when the city hunters arrive, Think it is time for a serious tax break.
I, and many other landowners already do get a tax break. It’s called the Tree Growth Tax. The Great Ponds Act had it origin in the 1640 Mass. Colonial Ordinances and the very purpose of the ordinance was to allow people to hunt and fish on the waters that they all owned collectively. Stop and think for a minute if we did not have the legal right of trespass by foot on unimproved property. As you know, many landowners are very possessive individuals and all of the land owned by the wealthy and private and corporate landowers in Northern Maine would have all of the lakes and ponds as their private ponds. Even now, we must pay these greedy SOB’s a fee at the North Maine Wood’s gates just to drive on existing dirt roads to our collectively owned waters and land. And please understand that fish and wildlife also belong to the people and not to some greedy landowner. And finally, your chances of being harmed while driving on the road is 10o,000 times greater than being harmed by a hunter during hunting season. 35,000 people are killed every year on America’s highways with approximtely 3.5 million injuries. Since flourescent orange became the law, hunting has become the safest sport of any I know of. Yes, even safer than ping pong. Time landowner stopped being so possessive and greedy. Please remember that your ancestors stole this land from the Native Americans.
The link somebody else posted wasn’t correct so here’s the correct one:
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/shooting-details-unclear_2012-11-01.html
It provides enough information to get a much better idea of what happened here. He didn’t have a problem with the first group of hunters he talked to. He was assaulted when he stopped further up the road and asked a hunter to leave the property for some reason. I would bet some money that the hunter he asked to leave was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
WHY do so many of you people persist in making comments before you even know the facts? Seriously, is it because you have nothing better to do in your life?