slideshow

The case against David Wayne Rowland was postponed in Claiborne County Criminal Court on Monday.

Rowland, 67, of Tazewell, Tenn., was indicted by a Claiborne County Grand Jury in December in the death of Devin Smith. He is charged with reckless homicide.

Smith, 15, was hunting with his grandfather on Nov. 26, when he was shot around 5 p.m. His grandfather, Leonard Duffield, also of Tazewell, was near his grandson at the time of the shooting, according to reports.

“The grandfather thought he had let his gun go off because of the proximity of his grandson,” said Claiborne County Sheriff David Ray. “Then the other guy came over and admitted he had fired his gun.”

Rowland, who was hunting, told investigators he saw brush move, so he lifted his gun and fired. That shot killed Smith.

Rowland’s attorney David Stanifer told Judge Shayne Sexton he needed more time to go over the materials in the case. The next hearing in the case will be Sept. 17, which disappointed several of Smith’s family members who were present in the courtroom.

After Monday’s hearing, Smith’s mother spoke of the frustration and heartbreak the family is facing.

“We’re eight months into this and he (Rowland) has never served a day in jail,” said Smith’s mother, Jane Hurst. “There is no justice.”

Hurst described Smith as being a “clown” and a very happy young man.

“We are just lost without him,” she said.

Smith, a student at Middlesboro High School, would have turned 16 on Nov. 30, 2011. He was a member of the Middlesboro High School JROTC program, and planned to join the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduation.