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RFH 2010, News

Troopers Cite Two in Hunting Accident

Tue, May 24, 2011

A Hamilton was man injured by a gunshot while turkey hunting recently. He and his hunting partner were cited for falsely reporting where the accident took place.

State Police in Marcy, in conjunction with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police, have concluded an investigation into a hunting accident that occurred May 15 in the Town of Paris.
 
State Police were called to Hamilton Hospital in Madison County to interview a subject who had apparently been shot while turkey hunting. At approximately 6:30 am, Shane T. Stagaman, 40, of 7230 Madison Lake Rd. Hamilton, was struck in the face with pellets fired from a shotgun that was discharged by his hunting companion, James A. Muscarella, 39, of 5355 Soule Rd. , Eaton.
 
The investigation revealed that Muscarella discharged his shotgun, striking and killing a turkey. Pellets from this round continued through the woods striking Stagaman who had been positioned approximately 160 feet away. The shooting itself appears to be accidental. However both Stagaman and Muscarella lied to police about where the incident occurred. They initially reported the incident had occurred on State Forest land located in the Town of Sangerfield, when the incident had actually occurred on private property located in the Town of Paris. They were both subsequently arrested for providing a Punishable False Written Statement to the Police.
 
Both were issued an appearance ticket, returnable to the Village of Hamilton Court on May 23 at 7 p.m. They both were also charged by NYSDEC Officers with Failure to properly tag a turkey, under the NY State Environmental Conservation Law.
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