Troy man dies in Idaho gun accident

Special to the Inter Lake

LIBBY - A Troy musician traveling to a music job in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, died Aug. 5 when a gun in his vehicle fell onto the ground and discharged.

Larry Gene Davis, 62, died in the parking lot of the Garwood Saloon in Hayden, Idaho, according to sheriff's Deputy Lee Richardson of Kootenai County, Idaho.

Davis was struck by a .44-caliber bullet from a revolver he had been carrying between the driver's seat and door of his Chevy Blazer. The gun apparently fell out when Davis opened the door.

A passenger riding with Davis, Robert Lee Cody of Troy, told officers that he and Davis had stopped at the saloon on U.S. 95 for a bathroom break. Cody said he got out of the vehicle and heard a gunshot, went to the other side and found Davis unconscious in the driver's seat with the door open and the gun on the ground.

An autopsy showed that the bullet entered Davis' body through his left buttock and went to his heart, killing him almost instantly.

Davis, a lifelong Troy resident, was a longtime employee of Lincoln County and a singer and bass guitar player in the Bob Cody Band. Memorial services were held Aug. 11 in Troy.