Hunter Charged Over Bullet's Path

Minnesota's William Desmet charged with recklessly discharging a firearm
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 18, 2020 10:28 AM CST
Updated Dec 20, 2020 1:21 PM CST
Hunter's Bullet Goes Through Shed, Shower, Bedroom Wall
William Desmet claims "pure bad luck."   (Getty Images/eans)

A Minnesota man's reckless shot while deer hunting could earn him prison time. William Desmet, 40, was hunting on property in central South Dakota with his uncle and another person on Nov. 14 when he allegedly shot through a shed and into a homeowner's bedroom, per the Mitchell Daily Republic. The homeowner told an officer that they noticed "a hole by the faucet" in the bathroom on the evening of Nov. 14, per the Republic. "I started checking and found out it was a bullet. It was kind of scary," the person said. Per court documents, the bullet had in fact gone through the shed and into a home, where it shattered a glass shower door, continued through a wall, and into a dresser inside a bedroom, reports Outsider. It was ultimately found on the floor beneath the dresser.

Both Desmet and his uncle said the hunters had no intention of shooting anything other than deer. At least one bullet found its intended target, as Desmet reportedly brought down an eight-point mule buck during the hunt. "If something did happen, as I said, pure bad luck, I think," he said, according to the documents. "I definitely wouldn't shoot in a bad direction." He's charged with recklessly discharging a firearm, a class one misdemeanor, and could face a year in prison, plus a $2,000 fine. A court date has been set for Jan. 28 in Lyman County. (More hunting stories.)

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