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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Man mistaken for coypu survives shot in the head
2007-02-12
A snorkeller underwent eight hours of surgery after being shot in the head, apparently in mistake for a rodent. John Cheesman, 44, was snorkelling near Reedsport, south-west of Eugene, Oregon, when shot by William Roderick, 60, who has been charged with assault, being a felon armed with a firearm, and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana. He said he thought Mr Cheesman was a coypu, similar to a large rat. Shelley Cheesman, his wife, said: "The bullet hit in front of his right ear, where the bone is the most dense ... and didn't go into his brain."
Posted by:anonymous5089

#11  The shooter rescued the victim and called 911. I think it must've gone like this:

Shooter (to his friend in the boat): Whoa, look, a nutria. Pow!
Diver: Ow! Ow! Help! Help!
Shooter (paddling over to him): What's wrong, dude?
Diver: Somebody shot me!
Shooter: Wow, really? Come on dude, we gotta get outta here! There's some nut on the loose!
Posted by: Angie Schultz   2007-02-12 12:25  

#10  Pappy: It's Oregon. And judging by the majority postings to RB from there, it's also endemic

LOL, we got nutria trolls and there're good eatin! I gotum Tabasco sauce get that RB BBQ fired up!
Posted by: RD   2007-02-12 11:41  

#9  Nutria teeth are bright orange. According to my swamp boat guide in Louisiana, nutria were first imported by the McIlhenny (Tabasco sauce) family to create a fur farm. The boat left South America with six nutria and arrived in New Orleans with thirty six. A hurricane knocked over their enclosure, they escaped into the bayou and the rest as they say is history. They chew up all the roots of the swamp grasses and trees. I'd shoot one if I saw it but I might check to see if it was wearing dive fins first...
Posted by: Seafarious   2007-02-12 10:07  

#8  It's Oregon. And judging by the majority postings to RB from there, it's also endemic.
Posted by: Pappy   2007-02-12 09:51  

#7  A 60 year old meth head? Let's party
Posted by: Nick Nolte   2007-02-12 09:48  

#6  We call these things 'nutria' around here (Louisiana) - they're immigrants from South America, and are causing all sorts of problems (wetland destruction etc.) We've tried putting bounties on them, generating a market for their meat and fur (originally brought in to raise for fur but got free when a hurricane came through, and, well, they breed like rabbits, and the rest is history.) I was not aware they ever managed to get to the Pacific Northwest, so suspect Mr. Methhead Roderick was a displaced Louisianian.
Posted by: Glenmore   2007-02-12 08:26  

#5  Good eating? - The Cheesmen or the Coypu?
Posted by: Glineting Slert2228   2007-02-12 08:24  

#4  But, I believe good eating. Squiral(sp?) tasting chops.
Posted by: phil_b   2007-02-12 07:12  

#3  Boy, those are funny-looking critters!

Posted by: anonymous5089   2007-02-12 05:48  

#2  http://www.zen39103.zen.co.uk/coypu.html
Posted by: anonymous5089   2007-02-12 05:46  

#1  Cheesman was a coypu, similar to a large rat.

Coypus are the world's largest rodents. Try a 100 pound rat.
Posted by: phil_b   2007-02-12 05:02  

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