SKOWHEGAN, Maine — A lawsuit over a hunting incident on Halloween four years ago in Somerset County was settled Nov. 21 for an undisclosed amount.
Kerry Hebert and his wife, Jennifer Hebert, of Starks in April 2014 sued Robert Pond of Hartland in Somerset County Superior Court for negligence over his accidental shooting of Kerry Hebert, according to the complaint.
The case was scheduled to be tried next month in Skowhegan.
The incident began on Oct. 31, 2012, when a hunting party pursued a deer that had been shot by one of its members near Mount Hunger Road in Starks, according to the Heberts’ attorney, Daniel Kagan of Lewiston. Hebert, then 56, stopped the hunters to point out his nearby house, where he lives with his wife and two sons, and to ask them to stay clear of it.
One of the party’s members objected and an argument began, Kagan said in a press release issued last week. Pond, then 76, intervened while carrying his Remington hunting rifle. It fired, discharging a .30-06 caliber bullet at point-blank range into Hebert’s torso.
Hebert underwent at least two surgeries to repair tissue around two broken ribs and damage to a lung.
The lawsuit did not claim that Pond shot Hebert intentionally. The complaint alleged that Pond acted with negligence by violating firearm safety rules, including carrying his loaded weapon with the safety off and his finger inside the trigger guard.
“This needless shooting, so close to the family home, shook the Heberts hard,” Kagan said in the press release. “Kerry Hebert is a registered forester who has spent a lifetime in the woods. He and Jennifer understand and support Maine’s hunting heritage. Shootings like this erode public support for hunting. This lawsuit was a reminder of the importance of firearm safety and mutual respect between hunters and landowners.”
Pond’s attorney, David King of Bangor, declined to comment.