A Stone County jury on Thursday found a 60-year-old man not guilty in the 2024 shooting of a teenager at a private fishing pond — capping a case that drew widespread attention after a child was airlifted with a bullet wound to the neck.
Steven Alan Gill of Luber was acquitted of first-degree battery following a trial that began Monday. Prosecutors had alleged Gill shot a 13-year-old boy with a .22-caliber rifle on Aug. 31, 2024, while the teen and his 18-year-old cousin were attempting to fish at a pond on land owned by the Gill family.
The victim was shot in the neck — initially reported as the shoulder — and airlifted to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, where he recovered from non-life-threatening injuries.
Gill told investigators he was firing toward dogs near his pond. Stone County Sheriff Brandon Long said evidence collected during the investigation conflicted with that account, leading to Gill’s arrest. A $300,000 bond was set following the shooting.
The jury returned its not guilty verdict Thursday, June 25.
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