FL: Man Arrested for Shooting at Hunter

Sopchoppy Man Arrested for Shooting at Hunter

17 December 2010

Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested a 36-year-old Sopchoppy man on weapons charges Friday, Dec. 17 following a Wednesday, Dec. 15 investigation into a report that someone fired upon a hunter as he was sitting in a deer stand, according to Sheriff David Harvey.

Michael Lynn Lott, Jr. of 58 Beasley Road was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and improper exhibition of a firearm in the case. He was transported to the Wakulla County Jail shortly before noon.

On Dec. 15, a 48-year-old Crawfordville hunter called 911 dispatchers when he thought he was being fired at while sitting inside the deer stand. Sheriff’s investigators arrived in Sopchoppy at 5:50 p.m. They located the victim’s truck and carefully extracted the hunter from the stand a few hundred feet away. The victim told investigators that he was sitting in the tree stand when he heard birdshot coming toward him from someone who was cursing in the distance.

Investigators interviewed Lott the night of the shooting after he was located at a camper near the hunting lease property. Lott was found to be in possession of a 12 gauge double barrel shotgun that detectives determined had been recently fired.

Their investigation continued on Dec. 16 and evidence was collected at the site including fired shotgun shell casings that were discovered near the entrance of the hunting lease property.

Lott told investigators that he was shooting at squirrels at the time the shooting was reported. He was arrested without incident. The case was investigated by Deputy Nick Gray, Deputy Vicki Mitchell, Deputy Michael Zimba, Captain Steve Ganey, Deputy Billy Metcalf, Det. Rob Giddens, Det. Nick Boutwell, Det. Derek Lawhon, Captain Cliff Carroll, Chief Deputy Donnie Crum, FHP Trooper Brian Speigner, Lt. Dale Evans, CSI Allison Blackstock, Captain Billy Jones and Deputy Will Hudson.

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