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Only three people know what exactly took place around a campfire near Oliver in May 2019 that left a bullet hole in a couch and a 25-year-old charged with attempted murder.

Two of the three won't talk and the other, Hunter Kruger, is charged with attempted murder and is unsurprisingly keeping his mouth shut.

One of the men who refused to cooperate, Richard Hill, is likely lucky to be alive as the bullet hole was found in the couch next to where he was sitting.

"It's all very suspicious," BC Provincial Court Judge Shannon Keyes told a courtroom in Penticton, Oct. 24. "Certainly something happened that produced the hole in the couch and the shotgun shells on the ground."

The case dates back to May 2019 when Kruger was at a campfire at Steven Gallagher's house, and Hill was there.

Kruger is Hill's second cousin and the two had been discussing the role of fire keeper, a highly respected Indigenous standing, held by Kruger's mother.

Hill contested who should be fire keeper and a disagreement took place and Kruger left.

Some time later he returned and was seen walking towards the fire pit with a shotgun. Two shots were fired.

Someone called the police and Kruger was eventually charged with the attempted murder of Hill, pointing a firearm, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose along with assault with a weapon.

However, the court heard while a trial was planned the Crown's two key witnesses, Hill and Gallagher, wouldn't cooperate. The move left just one key witness who didn't see who fired the gun.

"That evidence is certainly not sufficient to say that Mr. Kruger was the one that fired those shells or that he fired them at Mr. Hall who was sitting on the couch," the judge said. "But certainly something happened that produced the hole in the couch and the shotgun shells on the ground."

The only thing the Crown could prove was that Kruger was holding a shotgun at the time. He said he had it to scare Hill.

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Hill did at one point submit a victim impact statement to the court which said he was, "very aware of what would have happened" had he not moved the barrel of the gun in time.

The court heard no weight could be put on this statement.

Kruger pleaded guilty to a single charge of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

It's not clear why it took more than five years before the matter was concluded in court, but during that time Kruger has been on bail without issue. He had no criminal record prior to the event and has a positive social support network.

The court heard how the now 30-year-old had stopped drinking after the event, cut himself off from his peers, and was working full-time and paying his child maintenance.

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The Crown asked for a two-year suspended sentence, with conditions similar to his bail.

Defence lawyer James Pennington asked for a one-year suspended sentence and a waiver on the 10-year mandatory firearms ban, citing Kruger's work on his grandparent's ranch as to why he needed a gun.

The Judge agreed, giving the one-year sentence and allowing Kruger to use a weapon at work or for hunting.

The remaining charges were all stayed.

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