Ohio Man Convicted of Killing Prankster Says That He ‘Lost It’
MILLERSBURG, Ohio — A man on trial for the fatal shooting of a tomato-throwing prankster was found guilty of misdemeanor negligent homicide Friday and sentenced to time served.
Marion Weaver had been charged with murder, which could have meant a sentence of 18 years to life. The jury decided on the lesser charge after 4 1/2 hours of deliberation.
Weaver, 58, was found guilty in the Sept. 1 death of Steven L. Keim, 23.
Keim was among a group in a cornfield tossing tomatoes at vehicles, an annual prank in the rural area.
Weaver told two officers that after his car was pelted with tomatoes and paintballs, he drove home, got a shotgun and returned to the area.
Thinking the pranksters had left the cornfield, Weaver said, he fired into the air.
“I was frustrated. I lost it,” he testified. Weaver, who was friends with the Keim family, said when he learned of Keim’s death, “I was devastated. I had a heart attack.”
Assistant prosecutor Steve Knowling said Keim was hit by more than 100 pellets.
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