After a 20-year-old argued that the gunshot that killed his hunting friend in January was accidental, the case prosecutor argued back this week that it was actually reckless and merits a criminal charge.
The judge is scheduled to hear both arguments at a Nov. 12 hearing and decide whether the case should advance to a trial or be dropped.
Gaige Zook, a University of Wyoming student with no criminal history, is facing one manslaughter charge in Goshen County District Court on claims that he was reckless with a faulty shotgun that discharged during a Platte River duck hunt Jan. 20 and killed his friend, 19-year-old Maurizio Justiniano.
The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and would also remove Zook’s hunting and voting rights, among others, if he’s convicted.
Zook argued in a filing last month that he wasn’t being reckless that day, and the event was a horrible accident.
Through his attorney Jason Tangeman, he called some of the state’s key evidence speculative and murky, and said his conduct didn’t rise to Wyoming courts’ understanding of reckless behavior.
Goshen County Attorney Eric Boyer submitted a counter-argument Monday, to which Cowboy State Daily gained access Wednesday. It reiterates the charge and says there’s plenty of evidence in the case to uphold the claim that Zook behaved recklessly.
“Recklessly,” says Boyer’s filing, quoting from state law, means a person consciously disregards a substantial, unjustifiable risk that harm will happen, in a way that violates a reasonable person’s standards of conduct. This case fits that definition, Boyer’s filing argues.
The prosecutor also argued that the facts essentially speak for themselves, laying out a case clear enough for Zook to understand and defend against at a trial.
“The relatively voluminous evidence and discovery in this matter … leaves (little) to about as to the State’s allegations,” reads the filing.
Boyer said Zook’s statements, the eyewitness account of a third hunter who was there that day, “the full law enforcement investigation,” the autopsy and other evidence have made a clear-cut case.
Lastly, the prosecutor argued that the state has enough evidence to prove that Zook “recklessly pointed a weapon, which he knew had not only misfired — but was known to Defendant to have previously misfired — at the victim in this case.”
Can’t Imagine
The Zook family is adamant that the fatality was an accident and is troubled by the monthslong prosecution, Zook’s father Andrew Zook told Cowboy State Daily in a Wednesday email, in response to Boyer’s filing.
“Very few people can relate or imagine the trauma and devastation involved in an accident like this,” wrote Andrew Zook.
He said the two young men were best friends. Justiniano was part of the family and spent holidays at the Zook home.
“Mars came from a background where he didn't have many opportunities growing up and wanted to experience all he could moving from an urban environment to Wyoming,” wrote Andrew Zook, adding that his son loved to take Justiniano hunting because it was a new experience for Justiniano, whose family lives in Minnesota.
Andrew Zook said he’s a former law enforcement firearms instructor of 15 years and a firearm master armorer of the Glock, Colt 1911 and AR platform rifle, and has a “deep knowledge of firearm mechanics.”
He suspects there was a build-up of ice in the gun’s chamber, “but we don’t really know because the County has not done a proper investigation of the firearm,” he wrote.
The Goshen County Sheriff’s Office and Boyer both declined Thursday to comment.
Wyoming prosecutors typically do not comment on ongoing legal cases outside of court.
While hunting Jan. 20, Gaige Zook put the shotgun down and the barrel up after it misfired, leaning it forward in a safe position, wrote Andrew Zook.
Gaige Zook borrowed the third hunter’s gun, tried shooting a duck and missed.
Unclear
Then he tried to address the faulty shotgun.
“In an effort to make the shotgun safe, Gaige reached for the firearm to put the safety on and remove the shell from the chamber. When he grasped the barrel and was moving the shotgun forward to investigate, it discharged,” wrote Andrew Zook. “In the absence of any investigation of the firearm by law enforcement, we are uncertain why the firearm discharged.”
It’s also unclear how Justiniano was in the line of fire, the father wrote. His son “never intentionally pointed the muzzle at Mars and certainly never had his finger on the trigger,” Andrew Zook added.
The family suspects that Justiniano moved suddenly in that moment, forward or up .
“At this juncture my family is left mystified why the County has charged our son with a felony for causing the death of one of his close friends,” the father wrote. “There is no evidence my son ‘recklessly’ pointed the shotgun at his friend.”
There’s no evidence of fooling around, alcohol or drugs, Andrew Zook continued.
“In 15 years of law enforcement I have never heard or seen anything like what my family is experiencing over the last 11 months,” wrote the father. “Our family was close to Mars and are sick over this tragic accident. This baseless prosecution is tearing our son and family apart for no good reason and frankly without any evidence or a meaningful investigation.
“We hope the Judge can see this and dismiss the case.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
