Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508140086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PRICES FORK LENGTH: Medium
Michael Cook and three others were riding off Thomas Lane when Cook was struck, his brother said.
Jed McCracken, 33, of the 1100 block of Thomas Lane, has been charged with malicious wounding, a felony, and brandishing a firearm, a misdemeanor, said Deputy M.M. Wilburn of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
Wilburn said the shooting, which happened about 1:30 p.m., stemmed from a disagreement over trespassing.
Daniel Cook, Michael Cook's brother, said the shot was fired about an hour after McCracken pointed a gun at the group but did not fire it.
Wilburn said McCracken denies pointing the weapon and says he didn't aim for Cook.
McCracken told Wilburn "he fired the weapon in the air to scare the kids."
Michael Cook was struck in the middle of the back by No. 8 pellets from a 20-gauge shotgun, which was recovered by authorities.
A doctor couldn't tell Wilburn on Saturday afternoon whether any of the pellets had lodged under Cook's skin.
"I don't think it's major," Wilburn said of the boy's injuries before going to Montgomery Regional Hospital for more details.
A nursing supervisor said Cook was treated in the emergency room and released.
A magistrate set McCracken's bond at $20,000.
Daniel Cook said McCracken's father-in-law had given the riders permission to be on the property.
As his brother was being treated at Montgomery Regional Hospital, Daniel Cook was loading the dirt bikes on a hauling trailer as he talked outside a cluster of mobile homes at the end of Thomas Lane.
A painted sign called the place "Boss Hogg's Peaceable Kingdom."
"This isn't a peaceable kingdom anymore," said a woman standing nearby.
by CNB