Salmon man acquitted of voluntary manslaughter after trial

SALMON — After a three-day jury trial, a Salmon man was acquitted of felony charges after being accused of shooting a child in the hand.

Jeffery Allen Hoffman was found not guilty of felony aggravated battery while using a deadly weapon, felony attempted voluntary manslaughter and felony aggravated assault.

Hoffman’s defense attorney, Chip Giles with Blaser Oleson & Lloyd Attorneys at Law tells EastIdahoNews.com that he is proud of the trial’s outcome.

“I’m happy that justice prevailed in this case,” says Giles. “Twelve members of Lemhi County decided in the interest of justice. I am proud, and it was my honor to represent Dr. Hoffman.”

Background

According to a news release from the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and a Salmon police officer responded to a home on March 12 after a report of a fight between Hoffman and another man, Ronald Benjamin Jenkins, where shots were fired.

When they arrived, they learned a child had been shot in his thumb. The child was taken to Steele Memorial Medical Center for his injuries.

Hoffman and Jenkins were arrested and booked into the Lemhi County Jail. Jenkins was charged with misdemeanor disturbing the peace, misdemeanor malicious injury to property and misdemeanor battery.

Jenkins initially pleaded guilty but later accepted a plea agreement in which he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor disturbing the peace and misdemeanor malicious injury to property, and the prosecution agreed to dismiss the remaining charge.

On May 2, Jenkins was sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation for his role in the incident.

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