Hunter on meth kills teen he mistook for deer, Georgia officials say. He’s prison-bound
A Georgia hunter was high on meth when he shot and killed a teenager he thought was a deer, officials said.
Hector Romero-Hernandez also is accused of hunting without a big-game license and using a rifle during bow season on the day of the fateful excursion, according to Glynn County Superior Court.
The 35-year-old is now heading to prison after he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of his young hunting partner, according to prosecutors and WJXT. Court records shared with McClatchy News on April 13 didn’t list contact information for his attorney.
The case dates to Sept. 28, 2019, when officials said Romero-Hernandez set out into the woods near the Georgia coast with 17-year-old Bobby Lee Lane, described on a GoFundMe page as an “avid hunter and fisherman who loved the outdoors.” The teen was “in an area of heavy foliage, and was allegedly mistaken for a deer,” the Glynn County Police Department wrote in a news release at the time.
Prosecutors said that while hunting, Romero-Hernandez used a “firearm in a manner to endanger the bodily safety of Bobby Lee Lane, another person, by failing to identify his target and shooting said person.” In doing so, he ignored risks that his actions could have, amounting to a “gross deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would have exercised in the situation,” officials wrote in an indictment.
At the time of the shooting, Romero-Hernandez is accused of being under the influence of methamphetamine and the stimulant drug amphetamine, making it “less safe for him to hunt.” He also didn’t have the proper hunting documents or permission to be on the land, according to the indictment.
After the shooting, Romero-Hernandez reportedly helped to bring the injured 17-year-old to an intersection in the Brunswick area, roughly 80 miles south of Savannah. From there, the teen was taken to a hospital and later died, according to The Brunswick News.
In addition to involuntary manslaughter, Romero-Hernandez pleaded guilty to misuse of hunting equipment. He was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine and spend five years behind bars, with an additional five years on probation, records filed April 6 show.
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