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PA Man Receives Jail Time For Fatal Shooting of Bowhunter

By Brodie SwisherApril 11, 20234 Comments

A tragic hunting incident took place in the fall of 2021when a Pennsylvania man shot and killed another hunter while elk hunting in Colorado. Ronald Morosko was muzzleloader hunting for elk with his friend, Slade Pepke, when they began to move in on what they believed to be multiple bulls. 

Unfortunately, what Morosko assumed was an elk was actually another hunter. Morosko’s shot struck and killed bowhunter, Gregory Gabrisch, age 31. You can read that complete story HERE.

“When he saw white in the pines, he took a shot at what he thought was an elk,” Dolores County Sheriff Don Wilson wrote in an affidavit. 

Pa Man Receives Jail Time For Fatal Shooting Of Bowhunter
Ronald Morosko faces jail time for the shooting death of another hunter. Photo: Montezuma County Detention Center

Since that time, Ronald Morosko has been convicted of criminally negligent homicide and careless hunting in the 2021 shooting death of Gregory Gabrisch. Morosko was recently sentenced in Montezuma County Combined Courts in Cortez, Colorado. 

Judge Todd Plewe handed down a 90-day jail sentence, with an additional 12 months of state-supervised probation for the criminally negligent homicide conviction. The maximum jail time for criminally negligent homicide is three years in jail.

Morosko was fined $500 for the careless hunting conviction, a misdemeanor. He must also perform 100 hours of community service and may not hunt or fish during his probation.

As a convicted felon, Morosko is not allowed to legally possess firearms or ammunition, which prevents him from hunting with a gun. And the judge is also recommending to Colorado Parks and Wildlife that Morosko’s hunting and fishing privileges in Colorado and all compact states be suspended for life.

“Any hunter who violates these rules has been careless and or criminally negligent and must suffer the consequences,” Plewe said. “Hunting is inherently dangerous, and it is the hunter’s obligation to everyone to be safe. You, sir, were not sure of your target, what was in front of you.”

Prior to the trial, Plewe rejected a proposed plea agreement by the 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office that did not include jail time.

“Jail time is appropriate,” Plewe said, in explaining why he rejected the plea. “I sense Mr. Morosko that you have true remorse, sadness, that you feel sorry for what you have done, but I am concerned that you’re not fully accepting responsibility.”

What are you thoughts on this case? Does the punishment fit the crime? Was it just an accident? Comment below, and let us know your thoughts. 

Brodie Swisher
Brodie Swisher is a world champion game caller, outdoor writer, seminar speaker and Editor for Bowhunting.com. Brodie and his family live in the Kentucky Lake area of west Tennessee.
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