A man from Vadnais Heights who didn't want to share his prime duck hunting spot on Spring Lake in Dakota County last November is accused of twice shooting at another hunter who stopped his boat too close to him, according to court documents.

John C. Killeen, 48, is charged in Dakota County District Court with one count of intentional discharge of a firearm, a felony. He is to make his first court appearance on July 29.

According to the criminal complaint, sheriff's deputies were sent to the lake on Nov. 29, where a hunter told them that another hunter had shot at him. Spring Lake has many small islands separated by water channels and is considered good duck-hunting territory.

The victim said he pulled his boat into a channel and began to throw decoys into the water when he heard another hunter using foul language to alert a companion that somebody had come too close. Shortly afterward, a shot rang out and the victim saw pellets bounce off the front of his boat.

The victim laid down in his boat and called 911. He heard splashes along the shoreline and saw Killeen coming toward him, the complaint said. The victim heard Killeen say, "You're not hunting there, [expletive], get outta here," followed by another shot, which went in front of his boat, the court document said.

After his arrest, Killeen told investigators that he had taken two shots at ducks coming over the treetops, and afterward heard a man screaming that he had shot at him. He admitted that he knew the other hunter was there and that he could have killed him.

Other hunters in the area backed up the victim's story, saying they heard shouting, threats, expletives and two gunshots. The other hunters said there weren't any ducks in the area when they heard the shots.

Pat Pheifer • 952-746-3284