'If he hadn't done that, we would have hauled a corpse out of there'
By Associated PressMEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A man shot in a confrontation between off-road drivers and a miner in Southern Oregon could lose his arm, a friend says.
Gregory Glen Graybill, 53, of Gold Hill was sent to a Medford hospital for evaluation of the 12-gauge shotgun wound, and he could be transferred to a Veterans Administration hospital if amputation is required, said Eric Olson of Gold Hill who was in a Jeep vehicle Sunday with Graybill. The shooting site was near Kerby, along U.S. 199, in Josephine County. Olson and Graybill were in a party of off-roaders from Gold Hill and Rogue River driving four-wheel-drive vehicles. The miner, 61-year-old Ronald Eugene Spears, was jailed on an assault charge, said Josephine County authorities. Olson told the Medford Mail Tribune that Graybill has massive muscle, bone and nerve damage in his arm. Graybill was shot after the group of vehicles came on a camp with two tents and a truck. Olson said Spears shouted at the drivers to get off his property and said he had lived on the 80-acre claim 22 years. "He said we would collapse his tunnels," Olson said. He said Graybill and Spears had a confrontation, with Graybill arguing that the drivers had a legal right to cross the land. "Greg pushed the gun away and turned sideways just as he fired," Olson said. "If he hadn't done that, we would have hauled a corpse out of there." Forest Service spokeswoman Patty Burel said she couldn't discuss the specifics of this case while the investigation is under way. She said that, generally, miners can remove valuable minerals from the land where they have a mineral rights claim, but their other rights are limited. Off-road vehicle use is allowed as long as drivers obey posted rules and don't damage resources, she said. (Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.)
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