Lang
4/29/22
The Iowa City man who accidentally shot and wounded a Marine last October has entered a guilty plea.
Online records show 70-year-old Philip Olson of Brookwood Drive entered the plea Wednesday in Johnson County Court. Terms of the plea deal have not been released.
Iowa City Police say Olson was shooting at squirrels in his backyard, using a .22 caliber air rifle loaded with a metal pellet, but instead hit 20-year-old Lance Corporal Gabe Heefner as he was driving by on Highway 6 East. Heefner crashed near the intersection with Sycamore Street. He suffered severe injuries and was taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Friends have told KCJJ that Heefner is continuing his recovery.
Olson was charged with discharging a pellet gun within city limits. A loophole in Iowa law prevented Olson from being charged with reckless use of a firearm because a pellet gun is not technically considered a firearm.
Olson paid $450 in fines related to the incident levied by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources on charges of hunting without a license, hunting without a habitat fee, unlawfully taking or attempting to take squirrels, and firing over a highway.
Sentencing on the weapons charge is set for May 26th.