Scappoose family cleared in Wheeler County shooting

DA says Havliks acted out of self defense to protect their father

By Darryl Swan

The South County Spotlight, Nov 6, 2009, Updated Nov 6, 2009 (17 Reader comments)

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A Wheeler County grand jury on Thursday chose not to indict members of a Scappoose family involved in last month's shooting of a northeast Portland man while hunting near the John Day River, according to a Friday morning announcement by Wheeler County District Attorney Daniel Ousley.

Witnesses at the shooting scene said some members of the Scappoose family, which consists of Gary Havlik, 63, Russell Havlik, 33, Daron Havlik, 30, and Russell's 11-year-old son, shot to death Howard Frank Means, 61, in an act of self defense and defense of another person.

On the evening of Oct. 7, the Havlik family was searching for a wounded deer shot by another hunting party and that was seen in the area of the Priest Hole camp area.

The Havliks entered an area where Means was camped, and Gary approached two hunters of another party to inquire about the wounded deer.

At this point, according to the press release, Means appeared and accused Gary of attempting to steal the mule deer Means had shot earlier in the day.

The two independent witnesses testified that Means produced a 9 mm handgun from the back of his belt and pointed it at very close range at Gary. The witnesses also said Gary had never made a claim for Means' deer.

Gary pleaded with Means to lower the handgun, and had laid his hunting rifle on the ground, according to the release.

After hearing their father's pleas, Daron and Russell Havlik and the juvenile boy appeared from a bushy area and asked Means to remove the handgun from their father's stomach.

Means continued to claim the Havliks were attempting to steal his deer, according to the release. Witness accounts indicated that Means was angry and "very intoxicated," the release says.

An Oregon Medical Examiner report indicated Means' blood alcohol level was .24 percent at the time of his death.

The release says that Daron, fearing for his father's life, attempted to shoot the handgun out of Means' hand using a .357 handgun, subsequently injuring Means' hand and damaging his firearm.

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