Sean Doney, 33, of Caryville, plead guilty on June 23, for illegally killing a cow elk on the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area (NCWMA) in Campbell County.
The deceased elk was found in a food plot in the Red Ash area of NCWMA on Dec. 23. The cow elk was wearing a GPS collar as part of a 3-year elk research study with the University of Tennessee Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries. A necropsy by the UT College of Veterinary Medicine concluded the animal had been shot and a bullet was recovered from the carcass.
After a lengthy investigation and assistance from Eighth Judicial District Attorney General Jared Effler’s office, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Wildlife Officer Brenden Marlow charged Doney after he was identified by members of the public in result of rewards offered by Campbell Outdoor Recreation Association and Pine Mountain Longbeards Chapter of the NWTF.
Doney will face 30 days of jail time for hunting big game in closed season, hunting without a license, hunting without hunter education, illegal take of big game, and failure to retrieve game on a WMA.
He will also pay $350 in restitution to the TWRA.