Posted on 02/09/2011 3:59:11 PM PST by Uncle Miltie
A Gold Hill (OR) man who lost his lower right arm after a violent encounter with an Illinois Valley gold miner (testified) Tuesday at the miner's trial
Graybill, testified that he and his friends drove into an isolated campsite about eight miles outside of Kerby. Spears immediately began screaming at them to get off his mining claim, firing into the air with his 12-gauge shotgun for emphasis.
"He said, 'Get the f—- outta here. He was extremely agitated."
Graybill grabbed a beer and took off on foot. Spears suddenly appeared again. Graybill stepped toward Spears before he was "bayoneted" by Spears' shotgun in the right side of his ribcage.
He pushed the gun away just as Spears fired at point-blank range.
"If I hadn't done the left-hand sweep, I'd be dead. I swept. He fired."
The blast knocked the beer from Graybill's hand and tore away most of his right arm.
While one driver raced to cell phone range, Graybill's friends (used) a belt as a tourniquet.
"Blood was starting to slosh on the floorboards. I knew it was going to be close."
Graybill, Stacy and Olson testified before a gallery filled with Spears' supporters. About 20 members of the Southwest Oregon Mining Association, dressed in yellow shirts stating "Mineral Estate Grantee Vested Authority Jurisdiction Since July 26,1866," sat behind Spears.
The miners alleg(ed) Graybill and the others in his group were aggressive, drunken trespassers who initiated the confrontation.
"I think it's an enormous injustice," said Ida Reman, 32. "(Spears) was being attacked by drunks. He's been in jail for two years. They attacked an old man. They are young bullies. They should be in jail."
Stacy said Hood (82), the unofficial leader of the off-road group, committed suicide last Christmas, in part because of the stress of the incident.
(Excerpt) Read more at mailtribune.com ...
Depends on where you live. In Oregon, 82% of the land is Fed or state. BLM, National forest, state lands.
Most states east of the Rockies are almost all privately owned.
I can jeep 80 miles to the coast and never cross privately
owned land.
An associate of mine (from the suburbs) once parked in a spot on a street in South Philly and was told by a local that the spot was somebody else's and to move his car. My associate said, "Hey, snooze you lose," and the next thing he knew he had a gun in his ear. He moved his car without another word.
Did they save the beer????......
Well, he didn’t drop the beer til things got serious. You just know it was some lousy swill beer like Stroh’s!
In Alaska the mining claims must allow others on the claims for any reason. You can put up danger signs buts that’s about all. People hunt on mining claims all the time up here.
Wow, they should pay the guy a bit of money for the time he has been locked up. I think if this happened in Florida they would have taken a statement from the guy and that would have been the end of it. He was within his rights to shoot them. If someone with a gun tells me to leave their property, I would leave.
I bet the asshat tried to take the gun from him and lost his arm for it.
Geez, what a poorly written article. It hardly makes any sense.
Sound’s like he was just giving the miner a hand.
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