Hunter who shot off-duty Wisconsin deputy charged

HUDSON, WI (AP) — A Minnesota man has been charged with shooting and injuring an off-duty sheriff’s commander while hunting turkeys in western Wisconsin this spring.

Twenty-seven-year-old Anthony Peter Cardarelli of White Bear Lake, Minn., is charged in St. Croix County with second-degree recklessly endangering safety.

Cardarelli told deputies that he was sitting in a tree when he heard movement in the brush and fired his shotgun at what he thought was a turkey.

Washington County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Jerry Cusick was hit by 58 pellets at short range and knocked off his feet.

According to the charges, Cusick had a landowner’s permission to scout turkey hunting areas on April 30 but Cardarelli didn’t.

The Star Tribune reports Cardarelli makes his initial court appearance Oct. 24.
Cusick has returned to work.