A man accused of fatally shooting an employee at a Moark egg farm in Turner, Maine, has pleaded not guilty to a manslaughter charge. Michael Warbin, Franklin, Conn., allegedly shot Manuel Adame, Lewiston, Maine, on August 19.
Warbin entered the plea on October 31 in Androscoggin County Superior Court after being indicted earlier in October, the Associated Press reported.
Warbin had been contracted to clear the barn of rodents and stray chickens. While on the job, he allegedly fired a shot with a .22 caliber rifle in a poorly lit 500-foot-long barn, which wounded Adame. Prosecutors have said they believe the egg farm shooting was accidental, but a manslaughter charge is still applicable if the act was done with criminal negligence.
Officials said Adame collapsed while trying to leave the Moark barn and died while he was being taken to a hospital in nearby Lewiston. The state medical examiner's office said he died of a gunshot wound to the chest and neck.
