A hunting accident in Middlefield on Friday left an out-of-state man hospitalized and an out-of-town man under arrest, Otsego County deputies said.
Marc R. Macvean, 17, of Zeeland, Mich., was in stable and improving condition, said a nursing supervisor at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown on Friday night.
He was brought there after an accident that occurred about 8 a.m. in a wooded area off Goodspeed Road, deputies said.
He was shot by James C. Person Jr., 20, of Gloversville, who was charged with second-degree assault and first-degree reckless endangerment, both felonies, and taking an illegal deer. He was released on his own recognizance to appear at a later date.
Deputies said the victim was hunting with family and friends in a dense wooded area. Person was also hunting with family and friends.
Both were dressed in full camouflage clothing with no fluorescent clothing to identify them. Both hunters were in stationary positions and were unaware of the other's existence.
Person observed a deer and fired one shot from his .35-caliber rifle, striking the deer. It ran, and Person fired two more shots, one of which struck Macvean in the back and exited his abdomen, hitting his left hand. Macvean and Person were about 150 feet away from each other when the shooting took place, deputies said.
Macvean was treated at the scene and underwent surgery at Bassett for his wounds.
During the investigation, the victim's stepbrother, Eric A. Cheney, 20, was charged with lending a hunting license to another person. Person's father, James C. Person Sr., 43, of Gloversville, was charged with failure to co-sign a deer management tag.
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