SKOWHEGAN (AP) – A 14-year-old boy accused in the fatal shooting of another teen in a field in Norridgewock last March has entered pleas of not guilty to charges of manslaughter and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.

Cody Rioux of Norridgewock is accused of shooting Joshua Sawyer, 15, a student at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, with a .22-caliber rifle in an incident initially described to investigators as a hunting accident.

After Monday’s hearing, Rioux was released into the custody of his mother and father with the stipulation that he stay away from guns.

If convicted as a juvenile, Rioux would face a maximum penalty of detention until he turns 21. If convicted as an adult, the penalty would be more severe.

Assistant Attorney General William Baghdoyan said it did not appear that the teenager would be tried as an adult.

Rioux, Sawyer and a 13-year-old boy were all armed at the time of the shooting. Sawyer died from a wound to the neck.

Defense lawyer Walter F. McKee said all the evidence points to an accidental shooting. The boys were shooting at targets and random animals, “not unlike what 14 to 15 year old boys have been doing in central Maine for 200 years.”

McKee said young Rioux shot in the direction of Sawyer but didn’t know where he was. “It was a one in a million shot into the bushes and trees. It was almost wildly inaccurate and long distance,” he said.

Also facing charges is the man who supplied the guns. Rioux’ father, Scott Rioux, of Norridgewock, was summonsed on three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of hunting on Sunday, investigators said.

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Information from: Morning Sentinel, http://www.onlinesentinel.com/

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