Nelson Acosta-Sanchez had proved surprisingly difficult to catch. Mr. Acosta-Sanchez, who was accused of the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl, had already eluded capture, slipping out of the police’s grasp and later swimming across a reservoir before disappearing.

On Oct. 11, he turned up near the home of David Carlson, who lived with his family on Old Plank Road in Sparrowbush. Mr. Carlson knew that Mr. Acosta-Sanchez, who had recently been staying in a nearby cabin, was a wanted man. Mr. Carlson, who had already tried taking him to the police, ended up firing his shotgun four times, hitting Mr. Acosta-Sanchez twice, killing him.

The authorities suggest the shooting death was a case of vigilante justice, but his relatives and neighbors in the northwest corner of Orange County say Mr. Carlson was a hero who tried to corral a fugitive to bring him to the police and ended up needing to defend himself.

Mr. Carlson, 42, a slender carpenter and father of three with sandy hair and sharp blue eyes, was released on Friday on $100,000 bond after being indicted by an Orange County grand jury. The state police, in arresting Mr. Carlson after the shooting, had initially held him on a charge of second-degree murder, but the charge under which he will be prosecuted will not be disclosed until a formal indictment is issued next week, the district attorney said on Friday.