Hunting High, Killing Kid = 30 days

[TheeBadOne]

Belle Plaine man sentenced to 30 days in fatal hunting accident

Published Monday, August 25, 2008
GAYLORD, Minn. — A Belle Plaine man was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail for fatally shooting his 8-year-old son in a hunting accident last April.

Anthony Klaseus, 40, was also sentenced in Sibley County District Court to 10 years of probation plus 80 hours of community service for each of the next five years. His community service will include speaking about hunting safety. He’ll be allowed to leave jail to work but will spend nights behind bars.

Klaseus said little during the hearing, only affirming the sequence of events in questions posed to him, but he broke down in tears at one point. A deputy handed him a tissue while defense attorney Patrick Flanagan patted him on the back.

His wife, Amber, his parents and a sister attended the hearing in a show of support.

Klaseus and his son, Hunter Klaseus, were hunting turkeys April 19 around 6:25 p.m. when they spotted some turkeys. He told his son to stay put as he circled the field in pursuit of the birds. He called to the turkeys, they moved toward him, and he heard something snap or break nearby. He saw a figure rise up and he fired, thinking it was a turkey.

But it was his son. He told investigators Hunter jumped back up screaming and then fell down. The shotgun pellets had struck the boy in the neck and torso. He died at the scene.

The boy was wearing camouflage clothing.

The father’s blood alcohol level tested at 0.06 percent, which is short of the state’s legal limit for driving of 0.08 percent. Authorities also found traces of marijuana in his system. They also found beer containers and a marijuana pipe in his car.

Klaseus pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter June 19. Charges of reckless discharge of a firearm, trespassing and hunting turkeys without a license were dropped.

[Denny Crane]

Hunting inpaired= stupitiy. You have to believe the man was a rabid hunter to have named his son Hunter. Now he'll probably never have the desire to hunt. No punishment will bring his son back but I think he got off easy with the other charges being dropped. A few weeks ago, a 14 YO out here was hunting bears and shot and killed a hiker he thought was a bear! Too many stupid people in the woods for me to ever go there.

................................................denny crane

[G36's Rule]

I've been hunting most of my life. I've got at least 35 years in the field.


I will NEVER understand someone snap shooting at an unknown target.

NEVER...

[crimsonaudio]

That's not justice, that's a disgrace.

[woodasptim]

I will NEVER understand someone snap shooting at an unknown target.

NEVER...

+1 Idiots like this are the reason I don't hunt public land.

[DARKSHADOW]

I've been hunting most of my life. I've got at least 35 years in the field.


I will NEVER understand someone snap shooting at an unknown target.

NEVER...

I have never gone hunting, and I feel the same way.

Allways be sure of your target.

:sigh:

[THEPOPE]

I've said it once, I've said it twice, I've said it a thousand...no, I only said it twice....

Alcohol and firearms do NOT mix.....stay safe, stay responsible, in guns, and drinking....

Emm(hic) out :cool:

[Texas357]

Some people are so eager to bag something, they aren't particularly discerning.

That is no excuse. If you didn't see your target and pick your shot, you weren't hunting.

Anyone who hunts in a less-than-sober state (tired, beer, weed) should be deported to Nanny-state England. Anyone who shoots someone due to failure to identify the target or background doesn't deserve to go home after the hunt.

Poor kid.

[EAJuggalo]

How exactly is second degree manslaughter punishable by 30 days in the workhouse? State Sentencing Guidelines call for an term of imprisonment between 41 and 57 months for one with no criminal history. At least he's now a felon and can no longer possess a firearm.

[.264 magnum]

I've been hunting most of my life. I've got at least 35 years in the field.


I will NEVER understand someone snap shooting at an unknown target.

NEVER...

Word.

[elo]

he wasn't inebriated. dude killed his son... that's punishment enough

[EAJuggalo]

He was inebriated enough that if he had a Carry Permit he also would have been charged with Carrying while intoxicated.

[PeterJasonMN]

How exactly is second degree manslaughter punishable by 30 days in the workhouse? State Sentencing Guidelines call for an term of imprisonment between 41 and 57 months for one with no criminal history. At least he's now a felon and can no longer possess a firearm.


Something tells me that since he didn't care about not hunting sober, and not hunting with a license, he probably won't follow felon with gun laws either.


It probably happened because MN is so liberal infested.

[EAJuggalo]

But this was Belle Plaine, not Minneapolis, Saint Paul or god forbid Duluth where they'd probably just send him to hug therapy. I'd expect a judge to at least make him serve time in County and not the workhouse.

[waldershrek]

He was inebriated enough that if he had a Carry Permit he also would have been charged with Carrying while intoxicated.

Assuming that is a charge in his state. Obviously it wasn't in this case so he got charged with some other things. Either way it is a bad situation. I would probably off myself if I was him.

[rock_jock]

I've been hunting most of my life. I've got at least 35 years in the field.


I will NEVER understand someone snap shooting at an unknown target.

NEVER... Agree

[PeterJasonMN]

I think it's infested all of MN. Of course if it was Duluth he'd just have to write book reports.

[Rooster Rugburn]

In my younger years, I burned many a doob in a deer stand, never had a single problem or accident. Killed some deer, but that is all.


It's got nothing to do with the drugs or alcohol and everything to do with stupid. And you can't fix stupid.

[HollowHead]

It's got nothing to do with the drugs or alcohol and everything to do with stupid. And you can't fix stupid.

Agreed, +1K. HH

[crazymoose]

This thread might have been mis-titled. My money says the booze had a lot more to do with it than the grass (if he was even high at the time of the shooting; you can test positive a couple of weeks after the actual marijuana use).

[mitchshrader]

60-40 if they'd cut him loose he'd have eaten his gun or driven off a bridge.

good chance anyway. ain't no need to punish him, he's in hell.

locking him up wouldn't be any part of worse, it'd likely just give him a reason to suicide faster.

it might be a kindness to hang his sorry butt, but i personally wouldn't have the heart and likely not many juries would.

they probably tried to salvage whatever good he might do for society, more'n punish him.

[PeterJasonMN]

good chance anyway. ain't no need to punish him, he's in hell.


Yes there is. Just because you might feel bad doesn't mean you should get a pass. Try as the ACLU/MCLU/NAACP might, there's still no "My Bad" clause in the Minnesota 609 State Statutes.

[Branspop]

Its a shame the son paid for his father's ignorance. I have sympathy for parents who accidentally kill their children. I do not have sympathy for parents who are drunk/high and kill their children.

[AK_Stick]

Anyone who hunts in a less-than-sober state (tired, beer, weed) should be deported to Nanny-state England. Anyone who shoots someone due to failure to identify the target or background doesn't deserve to go home after the hunt.

Poor kid.



I agree with the second two, but if you're not tired when you're out hunting, then you're doing something wrong.

[major]

Yes there is. Just because you might feel bad doesn't mean you should get a pass. Try as the ACLU/MCLU/NAACP might, there's still no "My Bad" clause in the Minnesota 609 State Statutes.

Pass? He killed his son. He's not getting a "pass". He's getting a life sentence of trying to live with that fact every day. I'm sure he would rather do 20 years in prison if it would change what happened.

[DonGlock26]

I wonder what they would have done to him, if he had been DWI(.02 higher and how long did it take for them to get around to testing him,anyway?) and had an accident that killed his son?

[stevelyn]

I know the DUI and booze apologists are going to disagree with me, but any amount of alcohol in your system is too much when hunting or handling guns.
And it seems to me that a .06 BAC is enough to impair judgement to where vision and decision making were degraded even if it was below the .08 DUI limit.

BTW, I've made DUI cases that were under .08 limit fly because I could articulate impaired driving. Impaired with a gun? It'd be a slam dunk.

[digitsmaw]

Flame me if you want...

Giving him a pass on this because "he'll have to live with it the rest of his life" is just plain stupid!

How many times have you heard of a car accident where the kids weren't buckled in and they give mom the pass for the same reason?

There are some people out there who only think of themselves, some that think they'd be better off without kids, some that don't know that's exactly how they feel until the kid is dead. Assuming that everyone out there will be grieving is a serious oversight. I know folks that lost their kids in a car accident, had more kids and failed to buckle them and lost them again. Please, don't think that everyone feels the same way you do.

Giving him a pass - just like not ticketing a driver because they'll "suffer enough" is NOT the way to do it. The laws/penalties are there for a reason and they should follow them.

[Glock 19 God]

I hate how it is assumed a person was high because they have traces of Marijuana in their blood work. He could have gotten high weeks before the hunting trip. Traces of marijuana do not prove a person is or was high at a specific incident.

[TheeBadOne]

Yes, but is it possible they were?

[PeterJasonMN]

Pass? He killed his son. He's not getting a "pass". He's getting a life sentence of trying to live with that fact every day. I'm sure he would rather do 20 years in prison if it would change what happened.


Well now he gets both. And by "pass" I meant pass from the judicial system.

[JJohnson]

He was under the influence of alcohol

He was under the influence of pot

He was trespassing

He was hunting without a license

He had open containers in his car

He had drug paraphernalia in his car

He killed his son
_______________________________

= 30 Days in the county jail?

[Texas357]

I agree with the second two, but if you're not tired when you're out hunting, then you're doing something wrong.

I'm not talking about plain old "got up at 2:30 and am wishing I hadn't" tired, I'm talking about judgement-impairing exhaustion tired.

I still stand by my statement that if you don't identify the target and pick your shot, you weren't hunting, no matter what you bag.

[hardballing]

I have sympathy for the father, the mother, and the son. Regardless of the circumstances or evidence later uncovered.

On this one I will trust to the judge who, I assume, DID see all of the evidence produced at this guy's trial and pronounced the sentence that was imposed. I would assume the guy was loving enough that he cared to take his son hunting. Shame he effed it up by possibly including drugs or alcohol in the mix. Knowing he accidentally killed his kid, having his kid die in his arms, is a pretty rough go folks. At least in my mind.

Sad for all concerned imo.

[DaleGribble]

he wasn't inebriated. dude killed his son... that's punishment enough

No it's not.

The punishment that he will be putting himself through everyday for the rest of his life is probably far worse than anything the justice system can ever do to him. However, his punishment at the hands of the judicial system should also be about sending a message to the rest of society about what is and is not acceptable behavior. As usual, our judicial system failed at doing that.

[Glock 19 God]

Yes, but is it possible they were?

Absolutely, but it is also possible he wasnt.

[elo]

No it's not.

The punishment that he will be putting himself through everyday for the rest of his life is probably far worse than anything the justice system can ever do to him. However, his punishment at the hands of the judicial system should also be about sending a message to the rest of society about what is and is not acceptable behavior. As usual, our judicial system failed at doing that.

The only thing he possibly could be convicted of is negligent homicide... however none of his actions could be construed as negligent... he wasn't legally inebriated (below even the standards of DWI).. he wasn't high ("trace" amounts isn't high no matter how you twinkle it).

He was trespassing and he was hunting without a license, but neither of those are negligent circumstances in his son's death.

I'm failing to see what he's even serving 30 days for?

[DaleGribble]

I'm failing to see what he's even serving 30 days for?

He recklessly pointed a gun at his son and shot him, killing him.

That's the epitome of negligence.

[elo]

He recklessly pointed a gun at his son and shot him, killing him.

That's the epitome of negligence.
so Dick Cheney should be in jail too, yeah?

[DaleGribble]

so Dick Cheney should be in jail too, yeah?

Dick Cheney didn't kill anybody. Dick Cheney didn't have any alcohol or marijuana in his system and Dick Cheney wasn't hunting without a license. But to answer your question, yes!

[elo]

... But to answer your question, yes!
lol :supergrin:

[agentl074]

Such a tragedy - why did he take his boy hunting when he was under the influence of substances? He wasn’t sure of his target - Tragic....

[Critias]

He was under the influence of alcohol

He was under the influence of pot

He was trespassing

He was hunting without a license

He had open containers in his car

He had drug paraphernalia in his car

He killed his son
_______________________________

= 30 Days in the county jail?
Sheesh, well, when you say it that way... :supergrin:

[EAJuggalo]

One of the things in MN that elevates Negligent Homicide to Manslaughter in the Second Degree is Hunting without a Valid License. I also heard that if he completes his probation the charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor instead of the felony.

Someone made a great point on the radio today, what would your reaction be if it wasn't his son? If it was a neighbor kid he took hunting with him? I'm not asking for much but at least sentence according to the guidelines, I wonder if anybody is going to challenge the judge on this.

[Rooster Rugburn]

Such a tragedy - why did he take his boy hunting when he was under the influence of substances?

It's hard to say "sorry son, no hunting today, dad is getting a buzz". I bet he wishes had said that now.

Plus, stoners and drunks are so used to doing everything buzzed, he probably never thought it would be a problem. He just didn't take into account being stupid. I used to work some dangerous jobs high. At lunch, we would step outside and burn one.

I worked for a functional alcoholic and he did his job quite well.

This was probably the fathers only and most terrible screw up in his long tenure of being a buzzer.

[AC37]

He should be in jail a lot longer than that, if not more. Pure stupidity, idiots like him give all gun owners a bad name.

[strapped4family]

If he hadn't been found as a user of marijuana, I doubt the majority of you would be jumping on him.

This is a tragic accident. Tons of hunters have a couple beers while/before they are hunting. I'd dare to say that a lot of you do the same.

No one thinks something like this could happen to them. But it could, even if you didn't have a few beers in you. .06 is a very low amount of alcohol, and I'm sure the judge considered that, and the fact that this man will have to live with the accidental death of his child the rest of his life.

Everyone makes mistakes. You could have made it just as easy. It is very easy to blame marijuana and alcohol on peoples mistakes, but I'm sure the judge had good reasoning to be lenient and let this man, who took the time to take his son hunting, have a second lease on life.

[PeterJasonMN]

I would. Guy was still poaching while under the influence of alcohol. Remember, he might have tested at one certain level, but what was he at when he first got there?

[windplex]

This father is an idiot. Too bad the kid payed the price for it.

Sentence too light: 30 days and probation?! All I can say he is darned lucky he didnt shoot a dog -- would have had prison time.

[windplex]

Adddendum: And

Castrate him. Now that we know he is a dangerous idiot, time for him to get out of the pool.

[wprebeck]

I would. Guy was still poaching while under the influence of alcohol. Remember, he might have tested at one certain level, but what was he at when he first got there?

Quit making sense, PJ.

After all, everyone KNOWS that you just can't be impaired at .06, and that you couldn't be coming down from drinking, and previously had a much higher level than that...:upeyes:




Oh, and along with MANY other folks on here, I don't touch alcohol when I have a gun in my immediate possession. Being at home doesn't count, obviously, and I don't handle my guns when I've had even ONE beer at home, either.

Guns + alcohol don't mix. Period. End of story. This guy violated all kinds of laws, and should be in prison (not jail; there IS a difference) for a long time.

[JJohnson]

If he hadn't been found as a user of marijuana, I doubt the majority of you would be jumping on him.

I have no problem with herb, I keep it away from my kids and my hunting though. This douche did neither.

This is a tragic accident. Tons of hunters have a couple beers while/before they are hunting. I'd dare to say that a lot of you do the same.

A lot of people drink a drive too. Does that make it ok? Booze and hunting do not mix.

No one thinks something like this could happen to them...

Everyone makes mistakes...

You could have made it just as easy...

No, no, and no. We all think things like this COULD happen so we take simple precautions like staying home if you are buzzed, leaving the pipe at home, laying off the weed prior to handling firearms, knowing your target, finger off the trigger unless you are ready to shoot, etc. all contribute to the VAST majority of people NEVER EVER having to contend with this type of accident.

It is very easy to blame marijuana and alcohol on peoples mistakes, but I'm sure the judge had good reasoning to be lenient and let this man, who took the time to take his son hunting, have a second lease on life.

Yeah, it's ok that he killed his kid as junior still got some fresh air that morning, before taking a full load of copper plated #6's in the face and chest. At least they had that romp through the forest as they trespassed... :upeyes:

[Retseh]

He's already paid a bigger price than the justice system could ever levy on him.

More drugs, more booze, and a rendezvous with that same shotgun likely lie in his future.

[windplex]

If he hadn't been found as a user of marijuana, I doubt the majority of you would be jumping on him.

I dont want other hunters drunk or high; it places others at unnecessary risk.Hell I dont even want to work with drunk and high people let alone have them armed and shooting in the woods with me.

I think you are overly sensitive to the marijuana issue.

Ask youself what did this hunter/father do RIGHT that day? Way too many things he did wrong to bother listing those.

This is a tragic accident. Tons of hunters have a couple beers while/before they are hunting. I'd dare to say that a lot of you do the same.

No one thinks something like this could happen to them. But it could, even if you didn't have a few beers in you. .06 is a very low amount of alcohol, and I'm sure the judge considered that, and the fact that this man will have to live with the accidental death of his child the rest of his life.

Everyone makes mistakes. You could have made it just as easy. It is very easy to blame marijuana and alcohol on peoples mistakes, but I'm sure the judge had good reasoning to be lenient and let this man, who took the time to take his son hunting, have a second lease on life.

hunting impared is stupid and recless. period. Now this man killed another hunter -- happened to be his son. Could have been any other hunter.

Why does he deserve this pass? Becasue he killed his son and will feel bad? Not good enough; he deliberately endangered all hunters that day.

Did he drive to the hunting spot or walk? Likely drove and endangered all on the road, too.

I would. Guy was still poaching while under the influence of alcohol. Remember, he might have tested at one certain level, but what was he at when he first got there?

Absolutely!

[windplex]

He's already paid a bigger price than the justice system could ever levy on him.

More drugs, more booze, and a rendezvous with that same shotgun likely lie in his future.

Your second sentence is a darn good reason to throw the book at him and lock his arse up and at least get this drunk out of the woods.