Man pleads not guilty in child shooting
Megan Strickland
Galen Hawk is led out of Lake County District Court following his arraignment.
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POLSON – Galen Hawk, 26, pleaded not guilty to negligent homicide charges on Nov. 5 for the shooting death of a toddler that occurred two weeks earlier.
Hawk said nothing in Lake County District Court, as his attorney made the not guilty plea for him to negligent homicide charges and another 2013 felony DUI charge. A jury trial was set for March 2, 2015.
Hawk could face up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine if convicted of the charges.
According to court documents, Hawk was evasive in answering questions about how a 3-year-old boy ended up with a gunshot wound to the back, but told investigators that he found the child playing with his .380 caliber handgun. Hawk said he took the gun away from the boy and the child ran down the hall, looked back, and pointed a toy gun at him. Hawk pointed the handgun at the child, playing “gun tag,” and the firearm went off.
Hawk told investigators that he began CPR on the boy. The child was taken to St. Luke Community Hospital in Ronan by Hawk, and another man and woman who were in the Ninepipe home where the child was shot, but did not witness the incident. The child died while undergoing treatment.
While at the hospital, the man who was in the house at the time of the accident told law enforcement officials that Hawk had a .380 magazine for a Taurus pistol in his pocket. Hawk produced a fully-loaded, six-round magazine for the gun.
A gun matching the caliber of Hawk’s magazine was found in a search of the home. Hawk told investigators that he didn’t believe the gun was loaded because the magazine was in his pocket.
He also told investigators that he was “buzzed” at the time of the incident from drinking Seagram’s whiskey and Mike’s Hard Lemonade earlier in the evening. Hawk was listed as the child’s uncle in the boy’s obituary, though court documents say the two are not related.
