AITKIN, Minn. A judge sentenced a Maplewood man to a year in jail Monday in the shooting death of a 14-year-old boy he mistook for a deer last November while hunting in a state forest north of Lake Mille Lacs.
Steven John Ferguson, 46, was sentenced to a year in jail and placed on supervised probation for 10 years on a conviction of second-degree manslaughter in the death of Brandon Lanie, Buffalo, Minn.
Aitkin County District Judge John R. Solien also ordered Ferguson to drink no alcohol, to enter no liquor establishments and to have no contact with Brandon's family. He also was ordered to pay a fine and restitution. He was given 30 days to report to the Ramsey County Jail.
Lisa Roggenkamp Rakotz, senior assistant Aitkin County attorney, said three family members made victim impact statements before sentencing.
Nicole Lanie, Brandon's stepmother, said the last year had been a nightmare for the family, noting that Ferguson put the family through the ordeal of a trial rather than admit his guilt.
