A Tioga County man pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide earlier this week in County Court for shooting his neighbor in a deer-hunting incident in December.

Dean A. Brockoff, 54, of Lockwood, pleaded guilty in Tioga County Court to the Class E felony before Judge Gerald Keene on Monday evening. He admitted that on Dec 9 he was hunting at 7 a.m. before legal sunrise and fired a shot at some movement without identifying his target. He fired his Winchester bolt-action, 30.06 rifle, hitting David Barden, 73, in the torso, according to District Attorney Kirk Martin, who prosecuted the case.

The incident took place on private property off Miller Road in Lockwood. According to state deer hunting regulations, hunters are not…