TABERG -- The Oneida County Sheriff's Office investigated a firearm injury in a wooded area just off of Briarwood Lane in the Town of Annsville on Friday.
According to Inv. Richard Paul, 50-year old William K. Wehnke, of Briarwood Lane in Taberg had gone through the woods in an attempt to get close enough to a turkey that was in a corn field between his residence and the woods, to shoot at it. As he did, the turkey reportedly entered the wooded area and Wehnke fired a shot at what he believed to be a turkey.
The shot struck Matthew Brady, age 26, from Green Brook, NJ in the side, back and legs. Brady, a private investigator, had been sent to the area to investigate Wehnke's worker's compensation case and had been in the woods doing surveillance at the time, dressed in dark clothing. Wehnke and Brady did not know each other before the incident. Neither knew the other was in the woods at the time of the incident.
Brady was treated at the scene by members of the Taberg Fire Department before being transported to St. Elizabeth's Hospital by AmCare Ambulance. He underwent surgery at St. Elizabeth's Hospital and is currently listed in serious condition according to a nursing supervisor.
Wehnke was transported to the Law Enforcement Building, where he was questioned and later arrested for assault in the second degree, a class D felony. He was arraigned in the Town of Floyd Court by Judge C. Clarkin and ordered to be held after bail was set at $15,000. He will return to court at a later time for further proceedings.
