Man indicted in Levant hunting death

BANGOR – A Newport man was indicted Monday by the Penobscot County grand jury on a charge of manslaughter in the November hunting death of his friend in Levant.

Adam B. Nason, 20, fatally shot James Griffin Jr., 21, of Levant on Nov. 8 while hunting illegally in the woods off Route 222, according to officials. Nason allegedly fired the shot at 5 p.m., approximately 15 minutes after legal hunting ended that day.

Nason also was indicted Monday on charges of night hunting, hunting deer after having killed one, and false registration of a deer.

It is illegal to hunt deer after killing and registering one during the open season, except for those hunting during the expanded archery season or hunters with a valid bonus deer permit, according to Maine law.

William Stokes, assistant attorney general, declined Monday to comment on the indictment, saying it is the policy of his office not to publicly discuss current cases.

The victim’s father, James Griffin Sr., said he feels no ill will toward Nason, a longtime family friend.

“Our family is very concerned for him,” he said Monday.

The two families have visited once or twice since the shooting for what Griffin Sr. called “healing time.”

“I really haven’t changed any feeling towards the situation,” he said. “I’m trying not to think about it more.”

If convicted, Nason faces up to 40 years in prison on the manslaughter charge. His arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 28 in Penobscot County Superior Court.

Griffin Jr. and two cousins, Alfred Griffin, 24, and Scott Griffin, 22, all originally from Levant, were hunting together on family property when the shooting occurred, according to warden officials. Nason had left later that day and fired the fatal shot as he sat on a tree stump and watched for deer, officials said.

The bullet struck Griffin Jr. in the lower chest.

Someone in the hunting party reported the shooting by cell phone shortly after 5 p.m.

Griffin’s death marked the first fatal hunting-related shooting in Maine since 2001. Two weeks later, Adam Cassidy, 15, of Buxton died of a gunshot wound from his own rifle in Danforth.

The Levant shooting was also the first hunting fatality since Maine law changed in 2003 to allow hunting one half-hour after sunset.