Deer take off after poachers shot shots at them. (Video screen shot; TWRA Facebook)
June 01, 2017
By Scott Bernarde
Accused deer poachers received probation and fines after incident captured by a Tennessee homeowner's surveillance cameras.
Two alleged deer poachers have pleaded guilty to illegal hunting charges in a case initiated by a homeowner who told the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency the men were caught in the act by his home surveillance system.
The men did not have permission to be on the property and deer season had closed on Jan. 8, the state agency said in a news release. The incident was first reported in March on Lake Springs Rd. in La Follette.
Deer take off after poachers took shots at them. (Video screen shot; TWRA Facebook)
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You can see the video by clicking here (listen to the gun shots at the beginning of the video).
The homeowner received an alert on his phone and observed the men walking across his lawn, one of which was carrying a gun. The homeowner yelled at them through the security system causing them to run away. After reviewing the videos, the homeowner realized that they had shot at some deer in the afternoon and came back after dark to look for them. — TWRA press release
Investigators were able to identify the men, who admitted to shooting at the deer and hitting one of them, which ran off and was not found.
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Both men appeared in Campbell County General Sessions Court at the end of April.
Donnie Marcum, 65, of LaFollette, was charged with hunting from a public road, hunting in closed season, and hunting from a motor vehicle. He pleaded guilty to the charges of hunting from a public road and hunting in a closed season, and received one-year probation and was ordered to pay a $100 fine and $325.50 in court costs.
Suspected deer poachers caught on surveillance camera. (Video screen shot; TWRA Facebook)
Tyler Marcum, 18, also of LaFollette, was charged with hunting from a public road, hunting in closed season, hunting from motor vehicle, hunting big game with rimfire ammunition, and hunting without hunter education. He pleaded guilty to hunting in closed season, and was put on 30 days of probation, had his firearm declared contraband and forfeited to the state, and his hunting privileges were suspended for one year. He was also ordered to pay a $100 fine and $325.50 in court costs.
Check out the videos below from a Game & Fish post in March .
Poacher Caught Red-Handed https://youtu.be/LMwE2ZTKejQ
A poacher who has set up an illegal tree stand gets a big surprise when the wardens find him and his unlabled bear-bait.
'Robo Deer' Nets Poachers https://youtu.be/OQ40438vEAw
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Officers videos of poachers shooting decoy deer donated to the officers by the Chattanooga Area Chapter of Safari Club International (SCI). It is illegal to shoot from a roadway, and as you can see there are those who choose to disobey the law!
Catching a Methhead Poacher https://youtu.be/gZTgwDeoryA
Wild Justice: Wardens finally track down a suspect known for trading illegally hunted meat for a meth fix.
