Valley Stream man charged in upstate shooting of hunter
Robert Robar, 52, of Valley Stream, was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment after police said he mistakenly shot a fellow hunter he thought was a deer. (November 2009) Credit: Handout
A hunter from Valley Stream was arrested in the upstate town of Lumberland Wednesday after he shot and critically wounded a man he mistook for a deer, police said.
Robert Robar, 52, was charged with first degree reckless endangerment, police said, and was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail in the Sullivan County Jail.
Terry Pelton, 50, of upstate Sparrow Bush, was hunting alone in a wooded area near Rio Dam Road about 10 a.m. when the incident occurred, state police said.
Pelton, who was dressed in camouflage clothing, was seen by Robar at a distance, about 350 feet, police said, and Robar fired his Savage 30-06 rifle at him.
When Robar realized that he had shot someone, he assisted Pelton out of the wooded area and transported him to Bon Secours Community Hospital in upstate Port Jervis, police said.
Pelton was stabilized at that hospital, police said, and then airlifted to Westchester Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition, after undergoing emergency surgery to his pelvic area.
Published New York Department of Environmental Conservation statistics for 2008 indicated that there were 27 people shot in hunting incidents in New York, four fatally.
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'It happened right in your own backyard' NewsdayTV looks back at Long Island's pivotal role in the American Revolution, as well as how LIers are celebrating this year's holiday. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed and Elisa DiStefano are your hosts for this American adventure.
'It happened right in your own backyard' NewsdayTV looks back at Long Island's pivotal role in the American Revolution, as well as how LIers are celebrating this year's holiday. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed and Elisa DiStefano are your hosts for this American adventure.
