While investigating reports of illegal hunting while accompanied by fellow conservation officer Lt. Liza Bobseine last fall, James Davey was shot in the pelvic region while making his way through a cornfield.
The shots came from the perpetrator they were there to investigate and thanks to the quick-acting Bobseine, Davey luckily walked away with his life. The incident marked the first case in 30 years in the state of New York in which a conservation officer was shot while on duty and as such, was treated with as much scrutiny as one would expect.
The accused, 55-year-old Alan Blanchard was in Columbia County court earlier this month where Judge Jonathon Nichols eventually sealed his fate. As he pled guilty to a singular charge of second-degree assault, a Class D violent felony, he was handed his sentence.
In addition to revoking Blanchard’s hunting privileges for the remainder of his life, he is also unable to own a firearm so long as he shall live. He was also ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution, will serve a 6-month jail term and is on the hook for 100 hours of community service, which entails educational speeches to be given during hunter safety training courses in the future.
