Gaylord man convicted in fellow deer hunter's fatal shooting

Associated Press | Associated Press

BELLAIRE, Mich. — A Michigan man who authorities say accidentally shot and killed another hunter on the first day of the state's annual firearms deer season last year has been convicted on all three charges he faced.

An Antrim County jury found David M. Barber of Gaylord guilty on Dec. 13 of involuntary manslaughter, felony firearm and misdemeanor trespassing in the November 2018 shooting death of 38-year-old Justin E. Beutel.

Barber, 46, had rejected a plea offer on Nov. 20, according to court records, The Bay City Times reported. His sentencing date is pending.

State Department of Natural Resources officers responded to a reported hunting accident in Michigan's northeastern Lower Peninsula on Nov. 15, 2018 — the first day of the state's annual firearms deer season. EMS workers were unable to revive Beutel, who was from the Midland County community of Sanford.

The DNR has said Barber and Beutel apparently did not know each other and were hunting separately when the shooting occurred near the village of Alden, about 20 miles northeast of Traverse City.

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