A Jackson County grand jury is looking into whether a Klamath Falls hunter should face criminal charges for shooting and wounding a Medford man during what authorities have called a hunting accident near Howard Prairie.
The grand jury is scheduled to meet again Wednesday to consider charges against Cole Reeves, 36, Jackson County District Attorney Mark Huddleston said.
Investigators said Reeves shot and at a deer Oct. 1 northeast of Ashland and missed, but the bullet traveled through brush and across a forest road before striking Glen Bogart in the back.
Bogart, 43, spent more than a month in Medford hospitals before being released Nov. 6, family members said.
Huddleston declined to say what charge or charges the grand jury was asked to consider.
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Jean Bogart, Glen Bogart's wife, said the district attorney's office informed her this past week that prosecutors were seeking to indict Reeves on a charge of third-degree assault.
Third-degree assault is a Class C felony. An indictment on that charge would allege that Reeves acted recklessly when he seriously wounded Bogart by firing without properly identifying what was behind his target.
Reeves told investigators that he never saw Bogart before he fired, deputies said.
A conviction on a third-degree assault charge carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a $125,000 fine.
Jackson County sheriff's deputies who investigated the case cited Reeves on a misdemeanor charge of negligent wounding of another.
That charge alleges that Reeves wounded Bogart as the result of "failure to use ordinary care under the circumstances," according to the statute.
A conviction on that charge could lead to a maximum sentence of six months in jail, a $500 fine and mandatory loss of hunting privileges for 10 years.
Jean Bogart said she has "mixed emotions" on whether Reeves should face felony or misdemeanor charges.
"I'm sure it was an accident, but it was an accident that could have been prevented," she said.
Cole Reeves could not be reached Friday for comment.
Jean Bogart said her husband still must have his wounds cleaned and physical therapy three days each per week. Glen Bogart, who owns a Medford auto-detailing business but had no medical insurance at the time of the shooting, has racked up more than $350,000 in medical bills, Jean Bogart said.
"It's not fair that our lives are ruined because of his stupidity," she said.
The seven-member grand jury heard its first witness in the case Wednesday, Huddleston said. In the upcoming meeting, one more witness will testify before the grand jury will be asked to deliberate, said Huddleston, who declined to identify the witness.
Grand jury proceedings are closed door and private.
Steve Reeves, who is Cole Reeves' father, said the district attorney's office has offered Cole Reeves the option of testifying before the grand jury.
Steve Reeves said his son was logging in California and unavailable. He did not know if his son wishes to testify in the case.
Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail mfreeman@mailtribune.com.
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