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Jurors on Friday convicted Illinois Valley miner Ronald Eugene Spears, 63, of first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon in the April 2009 shooting of Gregory Glen Graybill, 55. Minutes after the two argued in Spears' camp, the miner followed Graybill and his friends to a second location, the victim testified. Enraged, Spears rammed his 12-gauge shotgun into Graybill's ribs. When Graybill reflexively shoved the gun off his chest, Spears pulled the trigger. The point-blank blast basically destroyed Graybill's right arm, the victim said. "I just felt I had to get the gun off my chest," said Graybill. "He hit me as hard as he could hit me. Luckily the gun didn't go off then or this would be a murder case." The incident happened as the pair engaged in their second verbal altercation after Graybill and his friends drove into — and then out of — Spears' mining camp during an off-roading expedition on April 5, 2009. Spears then racked another round in his shotgun and continued to threaten others in Graybill's group. He wanted them to stop their off-roading activities near his mine shafts in the Tennessee Mountain area, Spears told police. The guilty verdict on the Measure 11 assault charge carries a mandatory-minimum sentence of 71/2 years. The lesser charge — unlawful use of a weapon — pertains to threats made by Spears toward Gary Stacy and Curtis Burgess. Spears will remain in the Josephine County Jail without bail while he awaits his sentencing hearing, Josephine County Circuit Court Judge Lindi Baker ordered. A date for that hearing has not been set. Graybill thanked the prosecutor, Matt Corey, after leaving the courtroom. "I don't go into court with a case I don't believe in," Corey said. Surgeons performed seven operations on Graybill in an attempt to save the master carpenter's lower right arm and hand. But the damage to his bone, muscle and nerves was too severe. Graybill's forearm and hand were amputated below his elbow in an eighth surgery. Graybill said he was glad the trial is behind him. But added he may be facing more surgeries and another amputation. "I'm still having a lot of pain in my elbow," he said. "They may have to go higher (and amputate above the elbow.)" A contingent of fellow miners attended the trial in support of Spears, wearing bright yellow shirts. About a half dozen members of the Southwest Oregon Mining Association were in court to hear Friday's verdict. David Everest, 50, said he felt bad for Graybill, but added he believed Graybill had caused the injuries to himself by grabbing Spears' shotgun. "I think he pulled it into himself," Everest said. Oregon Mining Association President David McAllister stated he felt the incident "was a totally accidental shooting." But he also said, "I wouldn't ever have had a gun." McAllister said the judge should have allowed issues of mining and property laws on the record in the case. Both men said they did not know Spears or Graybill personally. Graybill said he has a degree in geology and has mined for more than 20 years. Spears may have had a right to the minerals on his claim, but he did not have the right to keep anyone off public land, he said. "We weren't trespassing on anybody's property. That's my property. That's your property. That's everybody's property," Graybill said. "I think it was a fair verdict. I believe he was guilty of the charges." Graybill said Spears certainly didn't have the right to shoot anyone. And he was glad to see the jurors recognized Spears' guilt. "What the miners don't understand is that he would have shot them just as fast," Graybill said. "I don't think he's safe in the woods with a weapon. He can't control himself." Graybill and Burgess said another member of their party, Don Hood, had witnessed the shooting, which occurred after the group of off-roaders had left Spears' campsite. Hood, 82, committed suicide last December, in part because of the horror of that day and the stress of the pending trial, Burgess said. "(Hood) saw the mist cloud (after the blast tore through Graybill's arm)," Graybill said. "He saw (Spears) racked another round. He literally hunted us down." After three days of testimony, 11 of the 12 jurors took only a few hours of deliberation to return guilty verdicts on both charges Friday morning. Ten verdicts of guilty were needed to convict. Jurors were asked to vote "guilty" or "not guilty" on each of the crimes, and they were asked to vote "yes" or "not" on whether they believed Spears had used his shotgun to commit the crimes. One elderly female juror voted that Spears was "not guilty" of the Measure 11 assault charge. The woman then refused to vote on other aspects of that crime or the lesser charge. "I abstained," she told the court. The judge called the juror's actions "unusual" and asked both the prosecutor, Matt Corey, and Spears' defense attorney, Daniel Simcoe, whether they accepted the verdict. Corey said he'd seen similar verdicts in the past. Simcoe accepted the jury's verdict, but he said he would not waive any possible appeals on his client's behalf. When asked to speak with the Mail Tribune about her decision, the juror responded, "I can't talk." Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 541-776-4497 or e-mail [email protected].