Eureka man murdered

Officials believe that a dispute over bighorn sheep led to murder in Eureka on Saturday evening.

Officials believe that a dispute over bighorn sheep led to murder in Eureka on Saturday evening.

Deputies from Lincoln County Sheriff's Office arrested Wayne A. Hixon, 51, in connection with the murder of his neighbor Robert D. Mast, 42.

Lincoln County Sheriff Daryl Anderson said officers responded to a report of a gunshot near the Roosville port of entry near the Canadian border at about 6:30 p.m.

Mast was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound.

Detective Lt. Jim Sweet of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said Mast appeared to have been shot in the neck at close range. His body was sent to the state crime lab Monday for autopsy.

Sweet said Eureka police later stopped Hixon for speeding, and found that he was coming from the area of the gunshot report, about five miles away.

Authorities said there is a history of

problems between Hixon and Mast. Most recently, Sweet said, there had been a dispute between the men about bighorn sheep that sometimes wander into the area. One reportedly accused the other of harassing the animals. A game warden was called and had left the neighborhood just a half-hour before numerous people heard the gunshot, Sweet said.

The area is only about 100 yards from the U.S. customs office, where officers reportedly believed at first that they were under fire.

Sweet credits Eureka police with good police work; an officer there was working on traffic enforcement and made a connection between the shooting and Hixon before a description of Hixon's car was even broadcast to officers.

Hixon was charged with deliberate homicide, speeding, and DUI.

Monday, he was in jail without bond.