Amish man accidentally killed girl in horse-drawn-buggy with stray gunshot, will serve 30 days in jail

(CBS/AP) COLUMBUS, Ohio - An Ohio Amish man will serve 30 days in jail for firing a bullet into the air that inadvertently killed a 15-year-old girl driving a horse-drawn buggy more than a mile away, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

As part of an agreement with prosecutors, 28-year-old Marion Yoder pleaded guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor count of negligent homicide, said Steve Knowling, the prosecutor for Holmes County in northern Ohio.

A judge sentenced Yoder to the maximum 180 days in the county jail, but suspended all but 30 days of the term. Yoder will be on probation for three years and will have to go back to jail for the full term if he violates it.

Authorities said Yoder was clearing a round out of his .50-caliber muzzle-loading rifle following a hunting trip when he fired a shot into the air. Rachel Yoder was driving the buggy more than a mile away, coming home from a Christmas party southwest of Canton when she was struck by the round. The two are not related.

"It's kind of a cautionary tale," Knowling said. "You fire into the air, and it's got to come down somewhere."

Marion Yoder initially was charged with felony reckless homicide.

"The victim's family did not want to proceed with this as a felony, and given the circumstances of the case I took that into consideration," Knowling said. "I think it's a fair resolution to the case and brings closure to both sides."

Rachel Yoder was shot around 10 p.m. on Dec. 15, 2011, about three miles from her home. Police said the horse carted her home and she fell out of the buggy. Her brother noticed the horse and buggy going in a circle and found the unresponsive teen on the ground. She died a day later.

Authorities thought she may have fallen from the buggy and hit her head, but an autopsy report concluded she died of a gunshot wound to the head and ruled her death a homicide.

Marion Yoder has to report to jail on Friday. Other terms of his probation include forfeiting the rifle and taking a hunter-safety course.