Chris Bates
Illegal Deer Take – Erie County
On November 15 at approximately 2 a.m., Lieutenant Mathis received a call from the City of Tonawanda Police Department regarding three individuals in a pickup truck at Veterans Memorial Park with two freshly taken deer in the bed of the truck. Lieutenant Mathis and ECO Scheer responded to the location and observed a 10-point buck and a doe in the bed of the truck that appeared to have been recently taken with a small-caliber rifle.
The Officers determined through their investigation that both deer were shot earlier that night with a .22-caliber rifle from the vehicle and from a roadway in Tonawanda, which is closed to all deer hunting. The three subjects received 24 tickets total, including charges of hunting deer with rimfire ammunition, hunting deer with an artificial light, taking deer with the aid of a motor vehicle, discharging a firearm from a public highway, and possessing a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, among other hunting-related charges. The operator of the vehicle was also arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated.
ECOs commend the City of Tonawanda Police Department for their assistance in apprehending the suspected poachers.
