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Man pleads guilty to fatally shooting deer hunter in Ashtabula County

Prosecutors say Darrell Shepard killed 62-year-old Randy Gozzard, a Florida man hunting with a group that had permission from a property owner in Monroe Township.
Credit: Micha? Chodyra
Photo: Thinkstock

ASHTABULA (AP) - An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting a deer hunter last November and for failing to report it.

The (Ashtabula) Star Beacon reports 41-year-old Darrell Shepard also pleaded guilty in northeast Ohio's Ashtabula County on Monday to having a weapon as a convicted felon and injuring someone while hunting.

Prosecutors say Shepard killed 62-year-old Randy Gozzard, a Florida man hunting with a group that had permission from a property owner in Monroe Township. Shepard was hunting there without permission or a game license.

Sheriff's deputies found Shepard hiding inside a home three weeks later and seized guns, including the shotgun used to shoot Gozzard.

Shepard attorney Candace Garrett says Shepard is remorseful and that he was shooting at a deer when Gozzard was struck.

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