After appearing in court twice during the same month for hunting deer illegally, three Campbell County men lose their hunting privileges for life, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).
On December 2, 2009, Campbell County wildlife officer Ken Cutsinger received a report of road hunters near the Union/Claiborne county line. Having been given a tag number, Cutsinger went to the apartment complex where the owner of the truck lived. He found a small buck and three does in the back of the truck.
During an interview, the three men from LaFollette, James Hunter, age 32, Terry Boshears, age 24, and Anthony Trosper, age 19, admitted to driving the roads and shooting deer. None of the subjects had a hunting license. The three were charged with hunting from a public road and killing deer in closed season.
Cutsinger took his K-9 partner, Macey, to the reported scene of the activity where Macey found two 7.62 cartridge cases along the roadside.
A court date was set for January in Union County General Sessions Court, but before the court date could arrive, the three men were apprehended again for hunting deer in closed season.
At about 1:00 a.m. on December 21, 2009, a Campbell County deputy received a report of gun shots and stopped a vehicle matching the description given by the complainant. The same three individuals were found in the vehicle, along with a 35 cal. rifle, a spotlight, and a bag of fresh meat.
Macey was again taken to the location of this report where she found a 35 cal. cartridge case on the roadway and followed a trail to the edge of the woods where she found the remains of the deer carcass.
For this offense, the three were given a court date in Campbell County General Session Court. The subjects were charged with 2nd offenses of hunting from a public road and killing deer in closed season, spotlighting deer and hunting without a license.
The final outcome of all the court proceedings placed them on supervised probation for a year, cost them $1,103.00 in court costs, $1,500.00 in fines, $800.00 restitution to TWRA, and $1,635.00 in probation fees: totaling of $5,038.00. They also had two rifles declared contraband: an SKS 7.62 and a Remington 35 call.
Their hunting privileges were also revoked for life.