SHELTON, Wash. - A bear hunter suspected of shooting a brush picker in
a remote area of Mason County has been arrested for investigation of
manslaughter, authorities said.
Gerald Wayne Aldrich, 39, was booked into Mason County Jail on Friday
morning, then released with a promise to appear in court.

His arrest comes two days after Carlos Pablo Carrillo, 25, of Shelton
was shot dead as he picked floral evergreens in a heavily wooded area.

Earlier, the Mason County Sheriff's Office reported that the hunter
shot Carrillo after accidentally mistaking him for a bear while on a
hunting excursion with another man.

Carrillo died from a gunshot to the head, according to the sheriff's
office.

Originally, sheriff's officials said the shooting appeared to be "a
tragic hunting accident." On Friday, officials said Aldrich's
manslaughter arrest stems from his apparent negligence in the shooting
death.

Aldrich and the second hunter at the scene were identified after they
came to the Mason County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday afternoon.

The two said they had heard news reports about the deadly shooting,
and went to the Sheriff’s Office to report the possibility that they
had fired the fatal shot.

According to a preliminary investigation, the two men were apparently
hunting legally in the area.

The two were walking along the road and saw what Aldrich thought was a
bear, and he fired one shot, deputies said. The hunter thought he had
missed his target, so the pair continued on, then left the area.

It was only later when the two men heard news reports of the shooting
that they realized it may have been their shot that killed Carrillo,
and they reported the incident to the Sheriff's Office.

Aldrich later took detectives out to the scene of the shooting to show
them where he had fired the shot. It was the same place where
investigators had earlier found the shell casing from the bullet used
to shoot Carrillo.

Investigators did note that Carrillo was wearing black clothing at the
time he was shot.

It was the second time since 2008 that hunters in Western Washington
shot someone that they thought was a bear.

In the previous case, in August 2008, a 14-year-old boy shot and
killed 54-year-old Pamela Almli in foggy conditions on Sauk Mountain
when he mistook her for a bear. He was charged with second-degree
manslaughter and sentenced to serve 30 days in juvenile detention.

Family members said Carrillo, a native of Guatemala, was gathering
salal - sturdy green branches that are used to dress up flower
arrangements around the world - to sell to nurseries. The heavy demand
for the crop has brought in hundreds of migrant workers who are
willing to head into the forests daily.

Right, like it isn't the first rule of hunting to know what you're
shooting.

They knew.