Young hunter who killed hiker gets 30 days

updated 5:40 a.m. ET July 11, 2009

MOUNT VERNON, Washington - A teenage hunter who shot and killed a hiker he mistook for a bear has been sentenced to 30 days in juvenile detention and 120 hours of community service.

Tyler J. Kales, then 14, was hunting with his older brother in August when he shot 54-year-old Pamela Almli of Oso, who was trekking on the popular Sauk mountain hiking trail north of Seattle.

Kales, who has since turned 15, apologized to the victim's family at Friday's sentencing and said he hoped they could forgive him.

The victim's sister, Gail Blacker, told him that "in one second you destroyed everything."

Kales, of Concrete, was convicted last month of second-degree manslaughter with a firearm.

Skagit County Superior Court Judge Susan Cook also sentenced him to a year of probation and said his community service must include four hours of hunting safety education.

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