20-year-old Gaige Zook is asking a Wyoming Judge to dismiss his case after the fatal shooting of his friend, 19-year-old Maurizio Justiniano, during a duck hunt on January 20, 2024. If tried and convicted, the single count of involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a felony that would also remove Zook’s gun and voting rights.
Zook, a University of Wyoming student from Pinedale with no criminal history states that the gun was fired accidentally and that he did not handle the firearm recklessly leading to his friend’s death, according to an October 16th filing by his attorney, Jason Tangeman.
The charge contends that Zook was handling the shotgun “recklessly,” which caused Justiniano’s death while the two, and a third hunter, were hunkered down in a manmade driftwood blind on the south shore of the Platte River. While Justiniano was not a licensed hunter, he went with the two that day to learn more about duck hunting
“[Zook] failed to properly and safely clear his weapon of malfunctions, and by having it pointed in an unsafe direction when it discharged, directly led to and caused the death of Maurizio Justiniano,” charging documents declare.
According to a case evidentiary affidavit, Zook tried to take a shot at a duck but the gun misfired, so he leaned the firearm against a fallen tree and borrowed a 20-gauge shotgun from the third hunter. Missing the duck, Zook returned to his gun to inspect the cause of its malfunction, which is when it fired unintentionally striking Justiniano in the left side of his abdominal area.
The affidavit also states that Zook told the third hunter to call 911 and that he helped emergency medical personnel care for Justiniano as he lay dying.
Goshen County District Court Judge Edward Buchanan has scheduled a November 12th hearing to listen to Zook’s argument which, according to Tangeman, addresses Wyoming’s “State of Mind” requirement, which says that an individual can’t be convicted of murder or manslaughter unless he has some deviation in his state of mind.
In cases of first-degree murder, the deviation is “purposely and with premeditated malice,” while second-degree murder is “purposely and maliciously.” According to prosecutors, the involuntary manslaughter charge that Zook faces sites that his deviation of the mind is recklessness. Wyoming case law interprets “recklessly” as a state of mind approaching an intent to harm. The Wyoming Supreme Court in 1960 defined the mindset as a disregard for the safety of others or behaving with a careless indifference to the consequences of one’s actions.
Tangeman’s motion argues that his client was not engaged in reckless behavior precluding the crime of manslaughter. The attorney instead characterizes the shooting as a fluke, quoting Zook’s January written statement to investigators.
“I gave (the third hunter) back his shotgun, then as I went to grab the gun to inspect it and put the safety on, it fired, hitting Mars,” according to Zook’s statement.
Tangeman argues that no written statement or statement in a video interview Zook gave to investigators, in which he performed a reenactment of the incident, provides evidence he consciously allowed the muzzle of his shotgun to point at his friend.
“The undisputed evidence is that the shotgun misfired and was safely set down with the muzzle pointing straight up… Gaige Zook was trying to make the firearm safer in an effort to protect fellow hunters and himself at the time it discharged,” Tangeman wrote.
Addressing the fact that the shotgun’s barrel had to face Justiniano at some point, Tangeman acknowledges in his filing that the investigating officer speculated that Zook had laid his firearm down so that the muzzle was pointing at Justiniano, which runs contrary to Zook’s recurring statements about the incident.
While his client says he “does not remember exactly what occurred in the split second the firearm discharged,” Tangeman argues that it is likely Justiniano moved forward, standing in the barrel’s path at the wrong moment while Zook’s attention was focused on diagnosing the gun’s malfunction.
Tangeman further added that if the prosecution’s evidence is “speculative,” Zook should not have to contest it at trial.
The defense attorney also invoked Wyoming’s sports and recreation civil law which states that individuals engaged in such activities accept any risk associated with them. Tangeman acknowledges that the law is meant to govern civil, and not criminal proceedings, but argues that it would be unfit to preclude a hunter from being sued in such a shooting, as hunting comes with a certain level of risk, but not to spare that same individual from a criminal conviction, which requires a much more substantial preponderance of evidence.
“Allowing this case to proceed to a jury trial would result in criminalizing any hunting accident,” Tangeman wrote.
Justiniano’s brother, Nahuel Dadin, established a GoFundMe page asking for help with costs associated with cremation and transportation of his brother’s ashes back to his home state of Minnesota. As of this time, they are no longer accepting donations.
“I just want to go with my family to give my brother the respect he deserves… We want to pick up my brother (sic) ashes and bring him home where he belongs,” wrote Dadin on the GoFundMe page.
It is interesting to note that Goshen County Coroner, Darin Yates, told Cowboy State Daily that upon review of the forensic pathologist’s autopsy account, he deemed Justiniano’s death “accidental,” acknowledging that it is not uncommon for a coroner’s manner of death to differ from charges that a prosecutor may apply to a case. Law enforcement agencies and coroners perform independent investigations and examine different case elements.
This incident is first and foremost a horrible tragedy. Now Zook faces up to 20 years in prison and the loss of his liberties which, depending on where you stand, may be seen as tragic as well. Without being there, it is impossible to say exactly how the entire incident unfolded and who or what might be at fault, however, this could also boil down to a dreadful accident which reminds us that no safety precaution is too much or redundant when we work around firearms. Not only does anyone handling a firearm need to ensure it is always pointed in a safe direction, but those in the vicinity or even around guns, should also maintain awareness and ensure they do not move into a potential line-of-fire situation.
Tell us in the comments below your thoughts on the incident, and how you think the Judge should rule on the motion to dismiss.
some where in here someones gonna say ‘Dick Cheney’.
the perfect crime.
I’m so sure….
I can’t know if there is guilt but the should have been pointed away from everyone at all times. This didn’t happen. The notion the victim stoop up at the wrong time means the gun was unsaf Ed Lu pointed over his head
you were there?
Right after high school a friend was on a hunting trip and his best friend stumbled and shot him behind the kneecap with a .30-06, he wears a prosthetic all thanks to failure to engage the safety. The zook character exhibited more incompetence by failing to clear a misfire and call the weapon safe before going to handle another shotgun only to return to the misfire and handle it even more carelessly resulting in 2 big senseless strikes against the zookster.
This whole story is terrible. I don’t know if the man deserves to be prosecuted based on the little I read, but hunting accidents do happen. Same as traffic accidents. The press just loves to show the firearms in a negative light.
+1. I hunt ducks a lot with my kids and a dog. Safety gets all of our focus, but no one is perfect and things can happen. This story is heartbreaking. I hope the judge has some reasonability and compassion.
There is a very fine line between Accidental and Negligent discharges. In this case with a misfire, removing the firearm from the blind immediately and kept pointed in a safe direction is the only safe procedure. Leaning it against a tree and taking someone else’s gun to shoot a duck was in every way unsafe and made for a damn expensive duck.
Traffic accidents don’t just happen. They are traffic collisions, meaning someone did something to cause the collision or they failed to maintain the vehicle causing a failure leading to a collision. Very few such incidents as “Accidents”.
The gun was pointed at him thus the big question is what were the circumstances.
Damn it. I told him to leave Alec Baldwin at home, but NO. Noone ever listens to me.
“Safety gets all of our focus, but no one is perfect and things can happen. This story is heartbreaking“
Alec Baldwin
Poking your head up already? Eat shit and die.We have more coverage than Verizon. Can you hear us now?!
“The press just loves to show the firearms in a negative light“
Hey bozo, it wasn’t the press showing firearms in a bad light, it was the irresponsible actions of the 20 year old with a gun.
And in this case ‘the press’ is a local outlet, ‘Cowboy State Daily’, hardly a liberal propaganda mouthpiece.
I’d think(?) the fact that the shooter had no hunting license is “interesting”. I’m something of safety nerd & continually drummed into my buddy but he never “got it”. So now I avoid shooting with him. My wife absorbed my lessons about being muzzled. She’s pretty great now.
“While Justiniano was not a licensed hunter, he went with the two that day to learn more about duck hunting”
The article states that the person who was shot was the person without a license. Nothing says that the shooter did not have one. Plus I read nothing that said the dead kid was doing any shooting, just going along to learn about duck hunting. Sad situation all the way around. Zook has a long life in front of himself to always remember what happened that day. I’d say that’ll be punishment enough.
baldwin gets all the breaks of any other rich white business owner that ran an unsafe work environment, miner.
At least from you.
“baldwin gets all the breaks“
Baldwin relied on the firearms experts hired by the production company, people who held themselves out to be qualified to ensure safe handling of the firearms on the set.
The script and Director’s instructions required the actor to point the firearm directly at the camera in the course of production.
On the other hand, I’ve never been duck hunting where it was required to point a firearm at a member of your party, but y’all may do it differently.
Always an excuse for the rich white guy, right miner? It’s only an unsafe work environment if he’s a conservative.
And you wonder why there was a red wave.
If it wasn’t for double standards you people would have no standards.
“Always an excuse for the rich white guy“
Hey, I think he’s a pompous ass too.
But we haven’t been in the courtroom, we haven’t seen the evidence or heard the testimony.
Hey troll the executive producer(alec Baldwin) is responsible for EVERYTHING that occurs in the making of a movie. DUH🙄
“Baldwin relied on the firearms experts …”
Just like every one else in real life…Baldwin was still responsible for the harm that could be caused by his own actions and what he was physically in control of.
Except, in left-wing liberal land where the person inflicting the stupid is always the victim and someone else did it.
Get a sex change…nah, its just wanting to be the opposite gender but its everyone else’s fault you aren’t really the the opposite gender.
Decide to use drugs and get addicted… nah, its everyone else fault you used drugs and are now addicted ’cause if they would have only given you wanted then you would not have gotten addicted to drugs.
Decide to loot and burn in a protest, nah its not your fault you did that its the fault of someone else.
Decided to hire other left-winger liberal stupid incompetent people to hand you a gun telling you its cold and ya end up shooting people, nah, its not your fault its someone else’s fault.
and it goes on and on …
Its always the fault of someone else in left-winger liberal land. And not only that, but then we have a prime example here with Miner49er blaming the death on someone else.
No one else pulled that trigger except Baldwin. He was the only one responsible for that bullet just as any of us would have been held responsible for the bullet from a gun we held, not matter if a supposed ‘expert’ handed it to us or not..
🎵🎶 I won’t go hunting with you Jake but I’ll go chasing women.
So put them dogs back in the pen and quit that silly grinning.🎵🎶
‘With great power especially in the form of a 12 gauge shotgun comes great responsibility’.
Clearing a malfunction never involves pointing a weapon at another person. In a previous profession I had a supposedly well versed law enforcement firearms instructor point a Remington 870 at my chest while trying to operate the slide, this knucklehead took forever to finally to push action bar release. When the action opened an unfired slug round fell to the ground. This event happened just after the “All Guns Are Always Loaded” spiel.
I have very little tolerance for unsafe weapon handling.
Thank you for presenting such fresh viewpoints; this piece has expanded my understanding significantly!
As my Marijuana bootlegging tenant’s lawyer says, “12 gauge shotgun? That’s small cal8ber, isn’t it?
It’s only harmless buckshot.”
Liberal Senator thinks Heller gave us the the right to own guns…and she has a law degree.
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How Presidential Transition Teams Actually Work.
President Trump’s Presidential Transition Team has been making news recently and Mark Smith Four Boxes Diner discusses the same.
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Didn’t I read, in the article, that the shooter’s gun malfunctioned, and he put it against something, the tried to use another gun that malfunctioned, then returned to his original gun, and THEN put the safety “on” the first malfunctioning gun, trying to make it “safer”?
If I read the article correctly, wasn’t leaving the first malfunctioning gun out of the shooter’s control, without ensuring the firearm was fully safetied, personal negligence, making the shooter fully responsible for all that happende?
To repeat the author’s adminission, get a serious personal liability insurance pollcy, AND pre-paid legal services; stuff happens, even you are looking.
Time to pick a jury.
I was chewed out once as a young lad for unsafe firearm handling, and the memory is still with me, and helps me be more aware. Likely we’ve all gotten that lesson and hopefully needed it only once. I wonder if Zook ever got his, and I’d be inclined to think one way or the other depending on the answer to that question.
Guns don’t kill people.
People kill people.
“Guns don’t kill people.
People kill people.”
Knives don’t kill people; but, people with knives do kill people, with knives.
Just goes to show even in Wyoming the lib DA’s are ever present. This sounds like a malfunctioning firearm or a hangfire round. It’s the equivalent of your water heater exploding and killing a neighbor walking down the street with their dog. Freak accident, maybe contributed to by poor maintenance but not murder and not first degree manslaughter unless there’s an eye witness that he aimed the gun at his buddy as a joke.
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