PORTLAND, Ore. - A Wheeler County grand jury has declined to hand up any criminal charges in the fatal shooting of a Portland hunter at a remote John Day River campsite.
Howard Franklin Means was shot during a confrontation with other hunters on Oct. 7 at a campsite at Priest Hole.
According to the Wheeler County district attorney's office, the 61-year-old Means pulled a handgun on another hunter and accused him of trying to steal a deer Means had killed.
The district attorney said the other hunter put down his rifle and asked Means to stop pointing the gun at him, but the confrontation escalated. The two sons of the other hunter joined the group, and exchanged gunfire with Means to protect their father.
An autopsy showed Means had a blood-alcohol content of 0.24 percent, or three times the legal limit for driving.
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