Dateline Iowa from Metro Section of Des Moines Register Jan. 5, 2009
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Police issue warrants for alleged gun owner
Warrants have been issued for a Council Bluffs man who police say owned the gun used in a deadly shooting last fall.
Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber said the warrants charge 24-year-old Mitchell Schard with involuntary manslaughter, accessory after the fact and obstruction of justice for the Oct. 18 shooting that killed 20-year-old Steve Hurd. Authorities have said the shooting was accidental.
Another man, 23-year-old Shane Hollenbach, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Dec. 22. He faces up to two years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 12.
Hollenbach shot Hurd, but police say the gun belonged to Schard.
Police have been unable to locate Schard.
**There may be something more going on here than the article states and the lesson learned is that guns that are registered in your name can come back to haunt you. It does not say whether the gun was loaned or sold to Hollenbach; all that matters is the gun was registered to Schard therefore it belongs to him.
This shooting was ruled accidental and Schard STILL has charges against him for someone else's mistake with a gun registered in his name. Imagine the monetary liability in a civil suit that Schard will likely face from Hurd's family as well--don't let the paper trail end with you.
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Police issue warrants for alleged gun owner
Warrants have been issued for a Council Bluffs man who police say owned the gun used in a deadly shooting last fall.
Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber said the warrants charge 24-year-old Mitchell Schard with involuntary manslaughter, accessory after the fact and obstruction of justice for the Oct. 18 shooting that killed 20-year-old Steve Hurd. Authorities have said the shooting was accidental.
Another man, 23-year-old Shane Hollenbach, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Dec. 22. He faces up to two years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 12.
Hollenbach shot Hurd, but police say the gun belonged to Schard.
Police have been unable to locate Schard.
**There may be something more going on here than the article states and the lesson learned is that guns that are registered in your name can come back to haunt you. It does not say whether the gun was loaned or sold to Hollenbach; all that matters is the gun was registered to Schard therefore it belongs to him.
This shooting was ruled accidental and Schard STILL has charges against him for someone else's mistake with a gun registered in his name. Imagine the monetary liability in a civil suit that Schard will likely face from Hurd's family as well--don't let the paper trail end with you.