Judge sets bail in deer-feeding feud at $1M

Published 2:23 pm Saturday, June 28, 2014

ST. PAUL — A judge has set bail at $1 million for a New Brighton man accused of fatally shooting his neighbor after a feud over feeding deer.

Prosecutors asked the judge to set bail for 57-year-old Neal Zumberge at $1.5 million. Zumberge is charged with shooting and killing 46-year-old Todd Stevens and wounding Stevens’ girlfriend, 48-year-old Jennifer Damerow Cleven, in early May.

Stevens and Cleven lived across the street from Zumberge. He allegedly was angry with them for feeding deer passing through the neighborhood.

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Reports say the defense argued for bail of $250,000.

But Ramsey County Judge Jeffrey Bryan said the potential for Zumberge to serve a long sentence if convicted compelled him to set high bail.