Hunter who shot friend to serve 30 days

BANGOR – A Newport man was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for fatally shooting a friend while they were hunting in November of last year, but Adam Nason will serve only 30 days behind bars. The rest of his sentence was suspended.

Nason, 20, had pleaded not guilty in January to a charge of Class A manslaughter but changed his plea to guilty Tuesday in Penobscot County Superior Court.

His sentence, handed down by Justice Nancy Mills, was part of a plea agreement between Nason’s lawyer, J. Hilary Billings of Bangor, and Assistant Attorney General William Baghdoyan.

“We feel fine; this young man does not need a lengthy period of incarceration,” Assistant Attorney General William Stokes said later Tuesday. “He’s not a threat.”

“I thought the agreement was entirely appropriate given the circumstances,” Billings said. “I think the circumstances were quite unique and not [likely] to be repeated … [Nason] had no prior record.”

Nason was charged after he accidentally shot and killed his friend James Griffin Jr., 21, of Levant while they were hunting with two other men on Nov. 8.

The group was hunting illegally, officials determined. Nason’s fatal shot struck Griffin in the chest about 15 minutes after legal hunting ended that day.

The family of the deceased has been supportive of Nason, and although they declined Tuesday night to comment, Billings said the Griffins were happy to resolve the matter.

“He had a good relationship with the deceased and his family; they were very sympathetic to Adam,” Billings said. [Adam] is the kind of guy who wanted to take some responsibility.”

Stokes agreed and said the plea agreement was discussed with the deceased’s family, some of whom appeared in court Tuesday.

“Nobody wins in these things,” the assistant attorney general said. “This is an opportunity to put the legal part behind them, and I think they’re satisfied that it was a fair resolution.”

Nason started serving his sentence on Tuesday, Stokes said. After his release, the young man will be on probation for three years and will be required to complete 100 hours of community service for each of those years.

“That can include a number of things, but we would prefer that he talk to younger people about hunter safety and obeying the laws,” Stokes said.

Nason, an Army reservist, now is a convicted felon, Stokes pointed out, adding that, “It’s unlikely he’ll ever be able to hunt or carry a firearm ever again.”

Griffin’s death was the first hunting fatality in Maine since 2001.