Drizzt
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The Oregonian
February 26, 2003 Wednesday SUNRISE EDITION
SECTION: EAST ZONER; Pg. D02
LENGTH: 842 words
HEADLINE: HUNTER PLEADS GUILTY TO KILLING MAN
SOURCE: STUART TOMLINSON - The Oregonian
DATELINE: HOOD RIVER
BODY:
Summary: An Odell man gets jail after mistaking Clyde Shumway of Gresham for a bear
An Odell hunter will spend six months in jail and three years on probation for the September slaying of a Gresham contractor he thought was a bear.
James F. Glenn Sr., 49, pleaded guilty in Hood River Circuit Court on Tuesday to one count of criminally negligent homicide.
Clyde Shumway, 58, a contractor who built and remodeled houses in Gresham and Portland, was shot Sept. 29 while hunting in a clear-cut area near Cooper Spur Road in the Mount Hood National Forest.
He was killed by a .30-06-caliber bullet fired by Glenn, who was 280 yards away.
Glenn, who lives in the nearby town of Odell, told Hood River County sheriff's Deputy Don Dillenbeck that he thought Shumway was a bear. Shumway was wearing faded blue jeans, a navy blue coat and backpack.
The shooting occurred between 6:30 and 7 a.m. in the light of dawn.
"Mr. Glenn shot when he didn't have his target clearly identified," said Hood River County District Attorney John Sewell. "As a result of his lack of judgment, Mr. Shumway lost his life."
Before sentencing Tuesday, Shumway's wife, Terry; his brother, Carl Shumway; and several friends addressed the court.
"My life has been totally devastated," Terry Shumway said, directing her remarks at a teary-eyed Glenn. "It's like my heart has been ripped from my body."
The pain, she said, will never go away. By the time she returned home Tuesday afternoon, a friend of Clyde Shumway had left a message on her answering machine. He wanted to talk to Clyde. He hadn't heard about his death.
Glenn, in letter to the court read by his attorney, Jack Morris, expressed his sadness about "that horrible day."
"My only intent was to harvest a bear for meat to put in my freezer for my family," he said. "I am truly sorry about this accident."
Morris said Glenn was convinced he saw a bear just before he shot. He moved from behind a stump, placed the rifle on a stump to steady it and fired.
Probation and payments
Glenn won't be able to possess firearms, or hunt, guide or trap for three years after he is released from jail. He must pay Shumway's family $6,500 in funeral expenses and $450 in fees and fines.
Judge Donald Hull also sentenced Glenn to 160 hours of community service, which includes taking a hunting safety class and giving a talk at least once a year on what it's like to take a human life while hunting. Glenn starts serving his sentence Thursday.
The judge praised Terry Shumway for the way she handled the sentencing and the past five months of grief.
"You are a brave woman. . . . I have great admiration for you," he said. He also complimented her for telling Glenn to clean up his act, to become a better citizen, take anger management classes, clean up his property and "show a little kindness to the world."
Terry Shumway asked Glenn whether was going to give up hunting.
"I can't answer that question," Glenn responded.
Lived for the woods
Terry Shumway said in an interview that she never really understood why her husband liked to hunt.
"He loved animals, so I never knew why he killed them," she said. "I guess it was something he was born into. He lived to get out in the woods."
Shumway was killed about a half mile from the mountain home they had worked on for 25 years, and not far from where he shot an elk the season before.
"It was like he was killed in his own back yard," she said.
Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler said Shumway might not have died had he been wearing blaze orange, a safety precaution that is mandatory in some states, but not in Oregon.
Glenn was wearing camouflaged clothing when he shot Shumway.
But Wampler said Glenn was reckless because he didn't adequately identify his target before firing.
"A hunter should always know exactly what he's shooting at," said Don Schaller, board member for the Oregon Hunters Association. Most of the group's 8,500 members oppose making the bright orange clothing mandatory for all hunters, he said.
Oregon State Police investigated the shooting, going to the clear-cut area to conduct tests, which they videotaped.
Terry Shumway knew the place well; she and her husband of more than 30 years often hiked the same trail and rode mountain bikes on the gravel roads that criss-cross the forest.
A Hood River County grand jury indicted Glenn in November on one count of second-degree manslaughter. An early plea arrangement included five years of probation, but that was lowered to three years.
Terry Shumway was angry when she found learned of the change in probation minutes before the sentencing Tuesday.
"It's hell," she said of the last five months without her husband, whom she met as a senior in high school. "A living hell . . . I have to make a whole new life. . . . It's pretty hard."
"He was a trickster, always laughing," she said. "I'm not out for revenge. But this guy really needs to change his ways and clean up his act."
February 26, 2003 Wednesday SUNRISE EDITION
SECTION: EAST ZONER; Pg. D02
LENGTH: 842 words
HEADLINE: HUNTER PLEADS GUILTY TO KILLING MAN
SOURCE: STUART TOMLINSON - The Oregonian
DATELINE: HOOD RIVER
BODY:
Summary: An Odell man gets jail after mistaking Clyde Shumway of Gresham for a bear
An Odell hunter will spend six months in jail and three years on probation for the September slaying of a Gresham contractor he thought was a bear.
James F. Glenn Sr., 49, pleaded guilty in Hood River Circuit Court on Tuesday to one count of criminally negligent homicide.
Clyde Shumway, 58, a contractor who built and remodeled houses in Gresham and Portland, was shot Sept. 29 while hunting in a clear-cut area near Cooper Spur Road in the Mount Hood National Forest.
He was killed by a .30-06-caliber bullet fired by Glenn, who was 280 yards away.
Glenn, who lives in the nearby town of Odell, told Hood River County sheriff's Deputy Don Dillenbeck that he thought Shumway was a bear. Shumway was wearing faded blue jeans, a navy blue coat and backpack.
The shooting occurred between 6:30 and 7 a.m. in the light of dawn.
"Mr. Glenn shot when he didn't have his target clearly identified," said Hood River County District Attorney John Sewell. "As a result of his lack of judgment, Mr. Shumway lost his life."
Before sentencing Tuesday, Shumway's wife, Terry; his brother, Carl Shumway; and several friends addressed the court.
"My life has been totally devastated," Terry Shumway said, directing her remarks at a teary-eyed Glenn. "It's like my heart has been ripped from my body."
The pain, she said, will never go away. By the time she returned home Tuesday afternoon, a friend of Clyde Shumway had left a message on her answering machine. He wanted to talk to Clyde. He hadn't heard about his death.
Glenn, in letter to the court read by his attorney, Jack Morris, expressed his sadness about "that horrible day."
"My only intent was to harvest a bear for meat to put in my freezer for my family," he said. "I am truly sorry about this accident."
Morris said Glenn was convinced he saw a bear just before he shot. He moved from behind a stump, placed the rifle on a stump to steady it and fired.
Probation and payments
Glenn won't be able to possess firearms, or hunt, guide or trap for three years after he is released from jail. He must pay Shumway's family $6,500 in funeral expenses and $450 in fees and fines.
Judge Donald Hull also sentenced Glenn to 160 hours of community service, which includes taking a hunting safety class and giving a talk at least once a year on what it's like to take a human life while hunting. Glenn starts serving his sentence Thursday.
The judge praised Terry Shumway for the way she handled the sentencing and the past five months of grief.
"You are a brave woman. . . . I have great admiration for you," he said. He also complimented her for telling Glenn to clean up his act, to become a better citizen, take anger management classes, clean up his property and "show a little kindness to the world."
Terry Shumway asked Glenn whether was going to give up hunting.
"I can't answer that question," Glenn responded.
Lived for the woods
Terry Shumway said in an interview that she never really understood why her husband liked to hunt.
"He loved animals, so I never knew why he killed them," she said. "I guess it was something he was born into. He lived to get out in the woods."
Shumway was killed about a half mile from the mountain home they had worked on for 25 years, and not far from where he shot an elk the season before.
"It was like he was killed in his own back yard," she said.
Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler said Shumway might not have died had he been wearing blaze orange, a safety precaution that is mandatory in some states, but not in Oregon.
Glenn was wearing camouflaged clothing when he shot Shumway.
But Wampler said Glenn was reckless because he didn't adequately identify his target before firing.
"A hunter should always know exactly what he's shooting at," said Don Schaller, board member for the Oregon Hunters Association. Most of the group's 8,500 members oppose making the bright orange clothing mandatory for all hunters, he said.
Oregon State Police investigated the shooting, going to the clear-cut area to conduct tests, which they videotaped.
Terry Shumway knew the place well; she and her husband of more than 30 years often hiked the same trail and rode mountain bikes on the gravel roads that criss-cross the forest.
A Hood River County grand jury indicted Glenn in November on one count of second-degree manslaughter. An early plea arrangement included five years of probation, but that was lowered to three years.
Terry Shumway was angry when she found learned of the change in probation minutes before the sentencing Tuesday.
"It's hell," she said of the last five months without her husband, whom she met as a senior in high school. "A living hell . . . I have to make a whole new life. . . . It's pretty hard."
"He was a trickster, always laughing," she said. "I'm not out for revenge. But this guy really needs to change his ways and clean up his act."
