"N.H. hunter faces charges after bullet penetrates home" by Trisha Thadani, Globe Correspondent December 16, 2014
Raymond and Sandra Gladu were sitting in their living room Monday in Pelham, N.H., when suddenly they heard a loud bang, saw a cloud of dust appear over Raymond’s head, and found a bullet hole in the wall.
Then came a knock on the door. Michael Crooker, 25, was there to apologize for shooting a 12-gauge shotgun in the direction of their home.
Crooker, of Pelham, had been trying to shoot a deer in the nearby woods, but he missed and the bullet went through the Gladus’ Campbell Road home, Pelham police said.
No one was injured. But the Gladus were “in absolute disbelief” and “emotionally upset,” police said.
Would they feel differently if it were a bear?
Crooker was arrested and charged with felony reckless conduct, shooting a firearm within 300 feet of an occupied dwelling, unlawful use of a firearm, negligent discharge of firearms, and attempting to shoot a deer out of season, police said.
He was released on bail and was scheduled to appear Jan. 26 in 10th Circuit District Court in Salem, N.H., according to police.
Sergeant Michael Pickles said in a telephone interview that he did not know if Crooker was a licensed hunter but, regardless, he was hunting eight days after the hunting season ended on Dec. 7 in New Hampshire.
During the season, which begins Nov. 12, Pickles said, police respond to a lot of calls that involve hunting.
Recently, police said they have responded to nine complaints of hunters shooting too close to people’s homes.
--more--"
