---

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 9, 1993                   TAG: 9301090197
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

---

CRAIG GUN OWNER CLEARED IN SHOOTING

A gun owner whose husband shot a man cannot be held liable for damages because she did not give her spouse permission to use the rifle, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The unanimous decision reversed a Craig County Circuit Court jury's verdict in favor of Steven Hill, who was shot and wounded by Frank Kingrey on Jan. 8, 1988. The jury had awarded Hill $25,000.

Hill was shot when he and his wife became lost and drove their car onto Kingrey's property. Betty Kingrey, who received the gun from her grandfather in 1983 but had never used it, was not home at the time of the shooting.

Kingrey had been convicted of a gun-related felony in 1978 and was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Hill contended that Betty Kingrey, who knew about the conviction, was negligent because she did not tell her husband not to use the gun or keep it locked up.

However, the Supreme Court said Betty Kingrey would be negligent only if she knew she was entrusting the weapon to a person who was likely to use it.

"There is no evidence that Betty expressly permitted Frank to use the rifle," Justice Elizabeth Lacy wrote. "Nor is the evidence sufficient to show that Betty knew, or should have known, that . . . if Frank had access to the rifle, he would use it to harm others."

The court noted that Kingrey did not use the weapon in a previous incident involving trespassers, and the rifle "was on the premises for five years without incident."

---