PORTLAND, Ore. -- No murder charges will be filed against the Scappoose family involved in a fight with Portland hunter Frank Means the day he died, a grand jury concluded. Rather, Means was shot to death in self defense by the son of another hunter who Means was holding a gun to.
A Wheeler County grand jury concluded Thursday that Means died after he shoved a 9-millimeter handgun into the stomach of 63-year-old Gary Havlik, in front of Havlik’s two grown sons and grandson. Fearing his father would get shot by Means, who was drunk, Daron Havlik shot Means, District Attorney Daniel Ousley said.
The Havlik family was implicated by witnesses as having been involved in a confrontation with Means over a mule deer that hung, skinned, in the hunting camp Means had made on the John Day River during the first week of October, according to Oregon State Police.
However, a third hunting group in the area testified that when the Havliks approached Means’ camp to ask whether he’d seen a deer they’d shot, an intoxicated Means accused them of theft, Ousley said.
“Witness accounts described Mr. Means as upset, angry and apparently very intoxicated as he continued to refuse their pleas and pointed his handgun into Gary Havlik's stomach and chest area,” the district attorney said.
The 61-year-old Means was shot to death on Oct. 7 near the John Day River.
Wheeler County investigators were initially criticized for failing to gather evidence and secure the area where Frank Means died in the manner befitting a homicidal investigation.
They did not take photographs and sheriff's deputies allegedly lost track of evidence.
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