A trophy buck that had long caught the eye of hunters in Mason County was killed illegally on Friday.
The West Virginia Natural Resources Police posted about the incident on Facebook:
On Nov. 23, Sgt. Jeff Sweeney with Natural Resources Police received a call from Mason County 911 that Lt. Stephen Greene and Deputy Ben Turner of the Mason County Sheriff’s Department were on the scene of a poached deer.
Sweeney responded and found the landowner with deputies on scene with the accused.
The accused had shot a 16-point buck that hunters in the Letart area had been watching for several years. The accused was attempting to haul the deer to his residence and ran out of gas.
He was caught by the landowner and turned over to deputies without
incident.
The accused was charged numerous hunting violations that include: Hunting without a license, hunting without written permission, illegal possession of wildlife and felon in possession of a firearm.
The name of the accused was not immediately available.
The rifle used was impounded. The meat was donated to the local food pantry, and the head and antlers were given to the landowner.
Natural Resources Police would like to thank the complainant and the Mason County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance in this case.
