Georgia hunter high on meth pleads guilty to shooting, killing teen he thought was a deer

A Georgia hunter pleaded guilty to shooting and killing a teen whom he had mistaken for a deer. Officials say he was high on meth at the time of the shooting, according to local reports.

In Sept. 2019, Hector Romero-Hernandez shot 17-year-old Bobby Lane in a wooded area in Glynn County. Police said the two knew each other and met in the Myers Hill area to hunt together.

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Romero-Hernandez told officers that he thought Lane was a deer in an area of heavy leaves when he shot him.

He drove Lane to the Friendly Express nearby to meet emergency responders. The 17-year-old died at the hospital, Channel 2′s sister station Action News Jax reported in 2019.

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The Macon Telegraph reports that Romero-Hernandez pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and misuse of hunting equipment last week.

The newspaper reports that prosecutors believe Romero-Hernandez was on methamphetamine and amphetamine drugs that made it unsafe for him to hunt.

Romero-Hernandez shot Lane with a rifle, even though it was only bow season in Georgia at the time, according to Action News Jax. Prosecutors argued he didn’t have the right hunting documents nor permission to hunt in the area.

Romero-Hernandez will have to spend five years behind bars and pay a $2,500 fine, according to the Macon Telegraph.

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