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Wyomingben
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LIVINGSTON -- Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
One Florida hunter, that's who.
Now his fear, and his lead-flinging reaction to it, has left him facing criminal charges for blowing a big hole in his guide's arm with a .300-caliber Magnum rifle in Paradise Valley Tuesday.
David Williams, 38, told police that he thought the two men and horses approaching in the dark were wolves coming to get him.
Williams is scheduled to appear in Justice Court here today to face misdemeanor negligent homicide charges.
His guide, J.C. Davis, 25, a Paradise Valley resident, suffered "extensive damage" to his upper left arm, according to Scott Hamilton, the Park County sheriff's detective who investigated the case.
Davis, whose family owns the Flying Diamond Guide Service, could not be reached for comment Thursday. A phone message left at his family's home was not returned.
Hamilton said he pieced the case together like this:
Williams and a friend had been hunting elk and deer with Davis, east of Daily Lake, just outside the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Area.
That is occupied wolf and grizzly bear country, and there had been considerable talk in camp about big carnivores.
"This guy, because they'd been talking about wolves, was scared to death," Hamilton said.
Never mind that wolf attacks on humans in North America number a small handful, none of them fatal, and most of them attributed to habituated animals near towns or garbage dumps.
While wolves have caused many headaches for area ranchers, and some of them are bold, nobody has reported any attacks on people in this region.
Davis took the two hunters out Tuesday and positioned them to watch for game. About dark, he rode out to gather them. He picked up Williams' companion first, and they were walking their horses towards' Williams position after nightfall Tuesday, Hamilton said.
A little earlier, Williams had seen something run by about 30 yards away.
When he heard the horses approaching, he opened up with his powerful rifle, firing three rounds, shooting at sounds.
"It's dark, and he thinks they're wolves coming in," Hamilton said.
One of his rounds hit Davis in the arm.
Hamilton rode in to investigate, and found coyote tracks near where Williams had been perched.
People on the scene applied first aid, and transported Davis to lower country, Hamilton said. An ambulance took him to Livingston Memorial Hospital.
Hamilton said Williams is remorseful about the incident.
"He's been very cooperative and apologetic about what happened," he said.
One Florida hunter, that's who.
Now his fear, and his lead-flinging reaction to it, has left him facing criminal charges for blowing a big hole in his guide's arm with a .300-caliber Magnum rifle in Paradise Valley Tuesday.
David Williams, 38, told police that he thought the two men and horses approaching in the dark were wolves coming to get him.
Williams is scheduled to appear in Justice Court here today to face misdemeanor negligent homicide charges.
His guide, J.C. Davis, 25, a Paradise Valley resident, suffered "extensive damage" to his upper left arm, according to Scott Hamilton, the Park County sheriff's detective who investigated the case.
Davis, whose family owns the Flying Diamond Guide Service, could not be reached for comment Thursday. A phone message left at his family's home was not returned.
Hamilton said he pieced the case together like this:
Williams and a friend had been hunting elk and deer with Davis, east of Daily Lake, just outside the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Area.
That is occupied wolf and grizzly bear country, and there had been considerable talk in camp about big carnivores.
"This guy, because they'd been talking about wolves, was scared to death," Hamilton said.
Never mind that wolf attacks on humans in North America number a small handful, none of them fatal, and most of them attributed to habituated animals near towns or garbage dumps.
While wolves have caused many headaches for area ranchers, and some of them are bold, nobody has reported any attacks on people in this region.
Davis took the two hunters out Tuesday and positioned them to watch for game. About dark, he rode out to gather them. He picked up Williams' companion first, and they were walking their horses towards' Williams position after nightfall Tuesday, Hamilton said.
A little earlier, Williams had seen something run by about 30 yards away.
When he heard the horses approaching, he opened up with his powerful rifle, firing three rounds, shooting at sounds.
"It's dark, and he thinks they're wolves coming in," Hamilton said.
One of his rounds hit Davis in the arm.
Hamilton rode in to investigate, and found coyote tracks near where Williams had been perched.
People on the scene applied first aid, and transported Davis to lower country, Hamilton said. An ambulance took him to Livingston Memorial Hospital.
Hamilton said Williams is remorseful about the incident.
"He's been very cooperative and apologetic about what happened," he said.
