Valley Stream man's hunting case dismissed
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
An appeals court Thursday tossed out a case against a Valley Stream hunter accused of recklessly shooting another hunter he thought was a deer in November 2009.
Robert Robar, 54, also cannot be retried and his indictment is dismissed, the Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, said in a decision posted on the State Supreme Court's website.
Robar's first trial in August ended in a mistrial, after Sullivan County Court Judge Frank LaBuda ruled Robar's attorney excused jurors who said they had "hunting backgrounds."
The appeals court said licensed hunters are not a protected class, overruling LaBuda's decision for a mistrial, but ruled that a retrial of Robar "is barred by the prohibition against double jeopardy."
Robar was hunting in Lumberland, about 40 miles west of Newburgh, on Nov. 24, 2009, when he shot another hunter, Terry Pelton of Sparrowbush.
He was charged with second-degree assault, a felony, and second-degree reckless endangerment.
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