County Officials Meet With Bee Spring Residents Who Say Stray Bullet Came From Neighbor's Shooting Range

Sheriff Shane Doyle discusses possible solutions for the disagreement.

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
Some Bee Springs residents let their voices be heard today in a special meeting following today's fiscal court session at the Edmonson County Courthouse. Robbie and Kim McGuffey, along with Cindy Meredith brought photos and a bullet that they say came from a door facing inside McGuffey's 92 year-old mother's house after passing through the window of the home.

Kim McGuffey said that their neighbor, Daniel Pinet, who was absent from the meeting, shoots everyday on his property, sometimes up to three hours at a time. She said that she and her husband, Robbie have asked him several times to reduce the frequency of his shooting but nothing has changed. They say a stray bullet went through the window of her mother's home and lodged near a door facing. That was when she said she'd had enough.

After calling the sheriff's office multiple times, they were still not satisfied with the end result as Mr. Pinet allegedly continued his shooting. They said they called Judge Executive Wil Cannon's office and demanded something be done. Judge Cannon and the sheriff's office went to the home to seek possibilities for the bullet's origin.

Cannon said after investigating, it was determined that the trajectory of the bullet came from the direction where Mr. Pinet had shot. Cannon said that Pinet had agreed to shoot in a different direction, but residents still weren't satisfied.

Cannon addressed the group today at the open meeting.

"People have a right to shoot firearms on their own property," He said. "We're not going to change that. However, every property owner has a responsibility to know what's beyond their intended target and we need to make sure people are using good common sense and good judgement when doing so."

Cannon said he spoke personally with Mr. Pinet and invited him to the meeting but he was not present. Mr. and Mrs. Marty Pinet, his parents, attended on his behalf. They said Daniel is a court security officer for the Warren Co. Sheriff's Office.

"We all have guns and we all grew up with guns, but we don't shoot them everyday and we don't shoot toward someone else's property," Mrs. McGuffey said. "I told him that if we were shooting toward his house and his kids he would be concerned, and all he would say is 'I understand, I understand,' but he kept on shooting."

Another area resident Cindy Meredith was also very upset. "He could've killed a 92 year old woman," she said. 

Cannon said he recommended to Pinet that if all his neighbors were upset, then he should consider stopping the shooting altogether; however, Cannon said that Pinet's reply was "No, that's why I moved here, to shoot here."

Judge Executive Wil Cannon shows the estimated bullet trajectory on an area map.

​Marty Pinet spoke to the accusation of the stray bullet. "Every precaution has been taken to make sure he's shooting in as safe of an environment as possible," he said. "As a reasonable person, he thought he was shooting in a safe place."

Judge Cannon said the best thing to do would be to simply shoot somewhere else.

Mr. Pinet said he would assure all the concerned parties that shooting in the area would stop, even though he said there were other possibilities of the bullet's origin, including other residents that shoot and local hunters. "Let's just stop this," he said. "We're not admitting anything or to any guilt, but I can say that no more gunfire will come from there."

A .45 cal bullet removed from Mrs. McGuffy's grandmother's home.

Magistrate Joe Durbin said he recently experienced something similar and encouraged resident gun enthusiasts to exercise more caution. He said he found a bullet lying beside his family vehicle and could see where it had passed through a piece of body molding on the vehicle. 

"I know accidents happen, but this could've been very serious," he said. "I hope everyone uses a little more common sense when you're shooting and know what's beyond your target."

Both the McGuffeys and Pinets said they were satisfied with the result of the meeting.

"We just want peace and want to get along with everyone," said Mrs. McGuffey. "It used to be the only thing you could hear down in that holler was people praying. Now it's just gunshots all the time. I'm satisfied with today's meeting, though. We just want to get along."

Mr. Pinet said much of the same. "I think we've found a good solution and this meeting has been good," he added. "As Christians, we just want to get along with everyone. That's our main concern."

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