Pennsylvania Game News - December 2018 - 34

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A few days later, I was able to interview the hunter shown bloody-handed in
the first photo. I met him at his place of
employment, and we went into his office
to talk. Immediately, he told me he wanted
to tell the truth; he knew we had spoken to
his dad, and he said the incident had been
weighing on him.
I read him his Miranda rights and he
offered statements verbally and in writing.
The man said he knew of this buck for
several years, and while he didn't have a
hunting license or permission to hunt the
property the buck was on, he snuck into
the area the afternoon of Nov. 29 and,
without wearing any orange, located the
deer and shot it in the neck with a rifle.
He quickly got hold of his dad, who
had a valid license, but in their haste to get
the buck to the taxidermist, they tagged it
with the wrong license panel.
The man provided the name and
address of the taxidermist, which was in
New Stanton, just west of Greensburg. I
reached out to Game Warden Matt Lucas,
whose district encompasses the area.
Even though the man who killed the
deer confessed, I still was nervous the
antlers and cape somehow might have
gone missing from the taxidermist, since
several weeks had passed since the deer
was killed and those responsible had
known we were investigating.
And when Matt called back, I learned
it would be a while longer until I knew if
we could place our hands on the deer; the
taxidermist was out-of-town until Dec. 26.
34

But the antlers and cape were there all
the while, and Matt retrieved them after
the taxidermist returned, then brought
them to me to hold as evidence.
The antlers were measured officially
with a green score of 162-5/8 inches prior
to deductions, netting a green score of
153-4/8 inches.
This is well over the 115-inch minimum that classifies a whitetail rack as
"trophy class" under the law - a designation that allows for enhanced penalties.
The man pleaded guilty to one count
each of taking big game beyond the daily
limit, trespassing and hunting without
a license, and I issued warnings to him
for hunting without wearing proper fluorescent orange and failing to purchase a
license.
At sentencing Jan. 30 in magisterial
district court, he was ordered to pay fines
and costs totaling $6,954.50 - $5,000 of
which were replacement costs for unlawfully killing a trophy whitetail. His hunting privileges also were revoked until July
2021, and his name was added to the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, which
makes him ineligible to buy a license
in 47 other participating states until his
Pennsylvania privileges are restored.
Meanwhile, his father pleaded guilty to
lending a license to another person, and
paid fines and costs of $240.
The informant was paid a reward
through the Operation Game Thief program for providing crucial information
in this case.
And the Southwest Region Office
currently is in the process of completing
a shoulder mount of this magnificent
animal. Upon completion the deer will
be displayed at events throughout the
region to demonstrate the difference that
reporting game-law and wildlife violations can make.

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Pennsylvania Game News - December 2018

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