A Tioga County man is due in court Jan 8 to face a felony manslaughter charge for the death of his neighbor in a deer hunting-related shooting that took place on the last day of the Southern Zone firearms season.

An investigation by State Environmental Conservation officers determined that on Dec. 9 Dean Brockoff, 53, of Lockwood, fired a shot from his Winchester bolt-action . 30.06 rifle that stuck and killed David Barton, 73, according to New York Outdoors News.

The shooting took place at approximately 7 a.m. as the two were hunting together on private property in a wooded area off of Miller Hollow Road in the town of Barton in Tioga County. According to state deer hunting regulations, hunters are not allowed to shoot before sunrise. Sunrise that day in Tioga…