{"id":2283914,"date":"2024-06-26T11:54:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T15:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/20-year-old-faces-decades-in-prison-after-fatal-duck-hunting-accident\/"},"modified":"2024-06-26T11:58:21","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T15:58:21","slug":"20-year-old-faces-decades-in-prison-after-fatal-duck-hunting-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/20-year-old-faces-decades-in-prison-after-fatal-duck-hunting-accident\/","title":{"rendered":"20-Year-Old Faces Decades in Prison After Fatal Duck Hunting Accident"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2F20-year-old-faces-decades-in-prison-after-fatal-duck-hunting-accident%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2283914&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A 20-year-old named Gaige Zook faces decades in prison following a duck hunting incident that led \u2063to the death of a teenager, Maurizio Justiniano. The event unfolded on \u2064January 20, 2024, \u200cby\u2063 the North \u2063Platte River\u2064 in Wyoming, where Zook, Justiniano,\u200c and another man \u2064named Jackson Harbor \u200bwent hunting. \u200dInitially, the shooting \u200cwas\u200b reported as \u2063accidental.\u200c <\/p>\n<p>Zook was using a shotgun which malfunctioned. While trying\u200b to \u2062fix it, \u2064the gun\u2063 accidentally \u2064discharged, fatally wounding Justiniano. This led to Zook&#8217;s arrest on April \u20648, \u2064after investigation details in \u200da probable cause affidavit highlighted \u2062the situation&#8217;s recklessness. Zook, having posted bond,\u2062 could face up \u2063to 20 years\u2064 if convicted of manslaughter. This case has brought attention to the critical \u2064importance\u2064 of firearm \u2062safety.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<header> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/news\/\">  News <\/a>  <\/p>\n<h2>20-Year-Old&#8217;s Gun Malfunctions During Duck Hunt, He&#8217;s Now Facing Decades in Prison for What Happened Next<\/h2>\n<p> <span> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/jharris\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p> <span>   By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/jharris\/%20\"><span>Jared Harris<\/span><\/a> <\/span> <span>   June 26, 2024 at 8:12am <\/span> <\/span>  <\/header>\n<section>\n<p>An incident during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/duck-dynastys-phil-robertsons-new-book-tells-his-haters-i-love-you-i-forgive-you-for-canceling-me-jesus-loves-you-too\/\" title=\"Duck Dynasty\u2019s Phil Robertson\u2019s New Book Tells His Haters: I Love You, I Forgive You For Canceling Me, Jesus Loves You Too\">duck hunt<\/a> resulted in the death of a teenager, while the man accused of operating the gun that killed him potentially faces decades in prison over the shooting.<\/p>\n<p>On Jan. 20, 20-year-old Gaige Zook, 19-year-old Maurizio Justiniano and a third man, Jackson Harbor, went duck hunting along Wyoming\u2019s North Platte River.<\/p>\n<p>Details were scant when the shooting first occurred. Local Wyoming outlet <a href=\"https:\/\/ruralradio.com\/kneb-am\/news\/torrington-hunting-death-ruled-accidental\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KNEB<\/a> reported days after the incident that there had been an accidental shooting that resulted in the death of Justiniano, but authorities then refused to release any additional information.<\/p>\n<p> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Torrington Hunting Accident\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BWrpsnGwzsQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen   style=\"display:none\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The case took a sudden turn just months later, however.<\/p>\n<p>On April 8, an arrest warrant for Zook was issued in Goshen County, Wyoming, in the fatal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/heroic-off-duty-police-officer-intervenes-stop-active-mall-shooting-kept-mind\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shooting<\/a> of Justiniano, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.creativecirclecdn.com\/nmcwye\/files\/20240502-130008-2024-05-03.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Torrington Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn or about January 20, 2024, Gaige Zook did involuntarily but recklessly and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-taliban-kill-13-members-of-ethnic-minority-group-in-afghanistan\/\" title=\"Report: Taliban Kill 13 Members Of Ethnic Minority Group In Afghanistan\">unlawfully kill<\/a> a human being without malice, expressed or implied, to wit: Gaige Zook did involuntarily but recklessly and unlawfully kill Maurizio Justiniano,\u201d the criminal warrant read.<\/p>\n<p>A probable cause affidavit obtained by the newspaper revealed more details about the shooting.<\/p>\n<p>Deputy Jason Lamb of the Goshen County Sheriff\u2019s Office responded to the scene in January and conducted initial interviews with the surviving men.<\/p>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-container\">\n<p>Do you know the basics of firearm safety?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe shooter, Gaige Zook, took me to the scene and talked me through what happened,\u201d Lamb wrote in the affidavit obtained by the Times.<\/p>\n<p>According to Lamb\u2019s narrative in the affidavit, licensed hunters Zook and Harbor took Justiniano, who was unlicensed to hunt, out to the river to introduce him to the sport.<\/p>\n<p>Trouble soon arose.<\/p>\n<p>With decoys in the water, the first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/kids-zoo-get-firsthand-look-nature-mother-duck-ducklings-land-enclosure-screams-begin-hungry-bear-appears\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ducks<\/a> landed on the river. Zook took aim, but his shotgun had a misfire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe leaned his gun up against the fallen tree they were sitting on,\u201d Lamb wrote, \u201cbarrel pointing up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Using the other hunter\u2019s shotgun, Zook was able to fire a round at the waterfowl but missed, the affidavit said. He then began to inspect his own malfunctioning firearm when tragedy struck.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs he was trying to evaluate his firearm, due to the misfire, the shotgun discharged, striking Maurizio in the left side of his abdominal area,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/deputies-florida-teen-motivated-by-scream-schemed-to-kill-jogger-keep-body-in-closet-all-to-himself\/\" title=\"Deputies: Florida Teen Motivated by \u2018Scream\u2019 Schemed to Kill Jogger, Keep Body in Closet \u2018All to Himself\u2019\">deputy wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/cowboystatedaily.com\/2024\/06\/06\/wyoming-duck-hunter-faces-felony-charge-for-unintentional-gunshot-death\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cowboy State Daily<\/a>, Zook\u2019s case rose to the felony-level Goshen County District Court on June 3 with a manslaughter charge.<\/p>\n<p>The young man, who was able to make bond, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-knows-he-messed-up-on-fracking-at-debate-and-is-now-doing-damage-control-the-daily-wire\/\" title=\"Joe Biden Knows He Messed Up On Fracking At Debate And Is Now Doing Damage Control | The Daily Wire\">outlet reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While unresolved in a court of law, the case nonetheless serves as a cautionary tale on the importance of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/alec-baldwin-violated-golden-rule-firearm-safety-somehow-going-guns-fault\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">firearm safety basics<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p><b><i>A Note from Our Deputy Managing Editor:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>I heard a chilling comment the other day: \u201cWe don\u2019t even know if an election will be held in 2024.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>That wasn\u2019t said by a conspiracy theorist or a doomsday prophet. No, former U.S. national security advisor Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said that to the founder of The Western Journal, Floyd Brown.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Gen. Flynn\u2019s warning means that the 2024 election is the most important election for every single living American. If we lose this one to the wealthy elites who hate us, hate God, and hate what America stands for, we can only assume that 248 years of American history and the values we hold dear to our hearts may soon vanish.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The end game is here, and as Benjamin Franklin said, \u201cWe must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>All of this means that <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>without you<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>, it\u2019s over. We have the platform, the journalists, and the experience to fight back hard, but Big Tech is strangling us through advertising blacklists, shadow bans, and algorithms. Did you know that we\u2019ve been blacklisted by 90% of advertisers? Without direct support from you, our readers, we can\u2019t continue the fight.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Can we count on <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>your support<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>? It may not seem like much, but a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Western Journal Membership<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  can make all the difference in the world because when you support us directly, you cut Big Tech out of the picture. They lose control. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>A monthly Western Journal Membership costs less than one coffee and breakfast sandwich each month, and it gets you access to ALL of our content \u2014 news, commentary, and premium articles. You\u2019ll experience a radically reduced number of ads, and most importantly you will be vitally supporting the fight for America\u2019s soul in 2024.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We are literally counting on you because without our members, The Western Journal would cease to exist. Will you <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>join us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  in the fight? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Sincerely,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Josh Manning<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Deputy Managing Editor<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Western Journal<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"author-info-44845\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/jharris\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<div>\n<p><label for=\"summary-tab-radio-44845\">Summary<\/label><label for=\"more-info-tab-radio-44845\">More<span> Biographical Information<\/span><\/label><label for=\"posts-tab-radio-44845\">Recent<span> Posts<\/span><\/label><label for=\"contact-tab-radio-44845\" onclick=\"if( typeof grecaptcha=='undefined' ) { let cap_s=document.createElement( 'script' ); cap_s.src='https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api.js?render=6LeJFcsUAAAAAPsIEqvB1EebWbZfqRUe6ebMpGy7'; document.body.appendChild( cap_s ); }\">Contact<\/label><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Jared has written more than 200 articles and assigned hundreds more since he joined The Western Journal in February 2017. He was an infantryman in the Arkansas and Georgia National Guard and is a husband, dad and aspiring farmer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>  Jared has written more than 200 articles and assigned hundreds more since he joined The Western Journal in February 2017. He is a husband, dad, and aspiring farmer. He was an infantryman in the Arkansas and Georgia National Guard. If he&#8217;s not with his wife and son, then he&#8217;s either shooting guns or working on his motorcycle. <\/p>\n<p>  Location <\/p>\n<p>  Arkansas <\/p>\n<p>  Languages Spoken <\/p>\n<p>  English <\/p>\n<p>  Topics of Expertise <\/p>\n<p>  Military, firearms, history <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A 20-year-old faces decades in prison after his gun malfunctioned during a duck hunt, leading to a teenager&#8217;s death. The incident occurred on June 26, 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2047,"featured_media":2283915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/North-Platte.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[16026,32846,3891],"class_list":["post-2283914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-20-year-old","tag-fatal-accident","tag-prison"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/North-Platte.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2047"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2283914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2283915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2283914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2283914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2283914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}