The case against a hunter charged with fatally shooting a neighbor he mistook for a deer was thrown out in upstate New York on Wednesday over a technicality, officials said.
Thomas Jadlowski, 34, faced second-degree manslaughter charges for the Nov. 22 incident that left 43-year-old Rosemary Billquist dead in Sherman, news station WVIB reported.
Authorities said Billquist was taking her Labs, Sugar and Stella, out for a walk the day before Thanksgiving when Jadlowski, who was hunting past legal hours, allegedly shot her.
The single bullet struck Billquist in the hip and she later died at a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania.
The 34-year-old hunter was arraigned Nov. 30 on a two-count indictment for manslaughter and hunting after legal hours.
Jadlowski’s lawyer, however, argued that the grand jury should’ve been informed of the option to indict him on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, according to WIVB.
The attorney appealed to Chautauqua County Court Judge David Foley, who ruled Wednesday to dismiss the charges.
Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson has not announced whether he will present the case to another grand jury.