HUNTER CHARGED IN FRIENDS' DEATH AFTER POSTIVE DRUG TEST

CHESTER - A Kershaw man could go to jail if he's convicted of charges that
he accidentally killed his first cousin while hunting under the influence
of marijuana, according to officials.

Kevin Lee Railey, 26, of 35 Oak Drive was arrested by Chester County
sheriff's deputies and charged with involuntary man-slaughter and
criminally negligent use of a firearm in the Nov. 3 death of 19-year-old
Eddie Joseph Tinker of Lugoff.

According to Cpl. John Lewis, lead investigator with the State Department
of Natural Resources, a hunting party of Railey and Tinker - plus both
men's fathers and friend Dan Cook of Elgin - were trespassing on another
hunting club's property on Big Island, also called Mount Dearborn, in Great
Falls just inside the Chester County line.

Cook and Railey had gone ahead in the woods to check to see if they had
shot a deer when they heard movement in brush about 95 feet away, Lewis said.

Both men fired five shotgun blasts at the sound, which turned out to be
Tinker, Lewis said.

Lewis said forensic tests showed that Tinker was killed by the blasts from
Railey's 20-gauge shotgun.

None of the hunters were wearing regulation orange clothing as required on
state wildlife management areas, Lewis said.

"If they had the orange on, they would have seen the victim, but there is
no excuse to shoot at movement if you cannot identify the target," Lewis
said. "It was very tragic and could have been avoided by following some
simple rules."

Lewis said investigators took blood samples from the hunters, who tested
positive for marijuana use. Cook also was charged with criminal use of a
firearm, a misdemeanor, for allegedly discharging the weapon while under
the influence of marijuana.

"That's one of the cardinal rules in hunting safety. Don't hunt while under
the influence of alcohol or other intoxicating drugs," Lewis said.

The four men also were cited with wildlife violations for trespassing and
failure to wear international orange.

Conviction of criminal negligent use of a firearm resulting in death
carries a sentence of not less than three months nor more than three years
in prison, according to the South Carolina Code of Laws.

The involuntary manslaughter charge is a felony that carries a maximum of
five years in prison.