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

DATE: THURSDAY, June 15, 1995                   TAG: 9506150051
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

OVEREAGER HUNTER GETS 5 YEARS IN KILLING

James L. Wright Jr. had to get a deer. He was tired of hearing his hunting buddies brag about their triumphs. But in his eagerness to bag the perfect buck, he took chances that cost another man his life.

For that, a Bedford County Circuit Court jury found Wright guilty of involuntary manslaughter Wednesday and sentenced him to five years in prison for the death of Thomas William Puckett.

During his emotional two-day jury trial, Wright cried often and expressed remorse for the killing.

Wright and others testified that he had been looking at photos of friends' hunting trophies just hours before he shot and killed Puckett last November in a field southeast of Bedford off Virginia 715.

As twilight neared, Wright said, his vision blurred. He heard a rustle in the underbrush and fired from a distance of 86 feet, without being certain that he was shooting at a deer.

Wright's hunting companions later found Puckett dead of a gunshot wound to the neck.

Wright said he had gone within 28 feet of where Puckett's body lay, looking for the deer, but didn't see Puckett because it was too dark and the underbrush was thick.

"The key thing is, anybody who picks up a firearm to hunt, you've got to identify your target. That's the bottom line," said prosecutor Randy Krantz. "If it was too dark and obstructed for him to see something from 28 feet, then it was certainly too dark and obstructed for him to take a shot from 86 feet."

A hunting safety expert agreed with Krantz, testifying that Wright - who had been hunting illegally with a shotgun during muzzle-loading season - violated rules of good hunting by not positively identifying his target.

Wright's lawyer could not be reached for comment.

by CNB