Wyoming Duck Hunter Says Fatal Shooting Was Accident

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.