Schuylkill County Judge Jacqueline L. Russell on Wednesday sentenced a Lehighton man who accidentally shot his hunting companion while poaching deer in West Penn Township in January to two years probation and 20 hours of community service.

Raymond C., Mayers Jr., 28, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment. Charges of shooting at/causing injury to a human being while hunting, unlawful presence of loaded firearm in vehicle and unlawful use of artificial light were dropped.According to court documents, Mayers and a friend, Kimberly Kokinda of Lansford, were reportedly poaching on Roads End Road, West Penn Township, on the night of Jan. 4. Kokinda was driving the vehicle, while Mayer was in the back seat, armed with a .22-caliber rifle. Mayer saw a deer in a field and decided to shoot it.As he was swinging the rifle into position, it discharged, traveling through the back of the seat where Kokinda was sitting. The bullet hit the woman in the back.Kokinda was airlifted to St. Luke's University Hospital-Bethlehem Campus, where she underwent surgery. She is recuperating, but remains paralyzed from the waist down.Charges against Mayer were filed by Wildlife Conservation Officer Kenneth Clouser of the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Southeast Region.According to published reports, Mayers is caring for Kokinda.