SHERIFF: Gold Hill Off-Roader Shot When Confronted on Man's Mining Claim

A 53-year-old Gold Hill man's arm was shattered by a shotgun blast following a confrontation Sunday on another man's mining claim on U.S. Forest Service land near Kerby, the Josephine County Sheriff's Office reported.

[gold diggers son]

the man who was shot was obviously the agressor in this case. my father is not the type of man to just shoot someone for being on his claim.if that was the case then many people would've been shot for the past 22 years my father has been there. he stays to himself and doesn't bother anyone. i believe that my father shot the man in self defense and is innocent of any crime.
thank you,
gold diggers son

[Prospector]

What is the status of this case?

[Robert F]

Last I heard
The gold mine was not legitimate.
He had no claim on file.

[Dose of Reality]

Robert F wrote:

Last I heard
The gold mine was not legitimate.
He had no claim on file.

The law does not require a filing to make a claim legitimate. That said, it appears he had permission of the owner of the properly filed claim to be there and do what he was lawfully entitled to do. If it weren't a valid claim the BLM would have made a case against it. Being BLM made no case against it, the law says the claim is valid and is private property. Oregon identifies a mining claim as realty. The mining law of Oregon says any harassment or interfence with a valid claim holder is a crime. You can check it out for yourselves at ORS 517. And people should read the law before commenting on such matters. I think the wrong guy is in jail.

[Joe Citizen]

I think the old goat should be allowed to shoot anyone he wants to, as long as it's only in the arm or the leg. Headshots and other fatal hits should require a hunting license so that the community can benefit from his extra-curricular activities by gaining revenue for maintaining the beauty integrety of the habitats in which the victims are being ambushed. It's a win-win situation for the hunter and the wildlife alike because fresh meat is then also provided for the creatures in their clean new environment.

[gold diggers son]

The claim was and still is legitimate. He was within his rights when he was faced with 6 vehicles full of people vs him.... he was aggressivly approached by someone who was intoxicated to the point where her was backed up nowhere to go...the guy grabbed the gun...it went off ...he was hurt....this is a bullshit case . they even have him charged with the wrong crime...assult 1...measure 11. In order to charge someone with that crime they have to show intent....there was none in this case and it's also in state court instead of federal. It happened on federal land..and private property granted by the 1872 mining law.