‘Hermit’ accused of firing on USDA agent
EDMOND — A man described in court documents as a “hermit” is accused of opening fire on a federal agent who was hunting feral swine near his home in the woods.
Colin Stuart Martin, 54, has lived in the wooded area off a dirt path north of Arcadia Lake since 1968, according to a court affidavit. County property records show an old farmhouse built in 1915 on the land.
Martin is charged with one misdemeanor count of reckless conduct while possessing a firearm, accused of firing 10 rounds from a handgun at an agent from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shortly after midnight Sept. 13.
Jessie Townsend, a USDA wildlife specialist, was in the area in response to a complaint of feral swine damaging corn and soybean crops, according to a court affidavit.
Townsend had just shot a feral boar, when he heard gunfire.
As the agent chased the wounded animal into a cornfield, firing four additional rounds into it, he heard more gunfire, including “bullets passing overhead.”
Townsend returned the next day with an agent from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
A local farmer told the agents about a “hermit” who lived alone in the woods near where Townsend heard the gunshots.
The agents found Martin at his home off the dirt path, and they said he admitted to firing eight to 10 rounds from his .22-caliber Ruger Single-Six revolver that night.
“I wanted whoever was shooting to know I was up here,” he said, according to the court affidavit.