New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) have charged two Delaware County residents in connection with a recent deer poaching incident.
Nevin Cutting, 22, of Masonville, and Thomas Terry, 23, of Sidney Center, have been charged with 21 Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) violations stemming from an investigation into the illegal taking of two deer.
On Dec. 3, ECOs received a call from a resident who reported shots being fired and lights shining in a field on Teed Hill Road in the town of Masonville that evening.
After interviewing the complainants, ECOs spotted Cutting walking out of the woods to a nearby vehicle, soaking wet and shivering. Cutting indicated that he could not endure any more time in the woods and stated that he was looking for a deer that a friend had shot earlier that day.
During the investigation, an ECO K-9 was able to locate a deer that was intentionally hidden in some thick brush, and it was determined to have been illegally shot after sunset. After several more interviews and written statements with multiple subjects, the ECOs determined that there had been two deer shot from a vehicle that evening. The pair were charged with multiple violations.
Cutting was ticketed for the following violations and faces up to $6,500 in fines and/or up to two years and seven months in jail:
- Two counts of discharging a firearm from or across a public highway (misdemeanor)
- Two counts of possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle (misdemeanor)
- Two counts of taking a doe deer with the aid of a motor vehicle (misdemeanor)
- Two counts of the illegal taking of a deer (misdemeanor)
- Two counts of hunting without a license (violation)
- Two counts of trespassing on posted property (violation)
- One count of making a false statement (misdemeanor)
Terry was ticketed for the following violations and faces up to $5,250 in fines and/or up to two years and three and a half months in jail:
- Two counts of trespassing on posted property (violation)
- Two counts of possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle (misdemeanor)
- Two counts of the illegal taking of a deer (misdemeanor)
- Two counts of taking a doe deer with the aid of a motor vehicle (misdemeanor)
The charges are answerable in Masonville Town Count on Jan. 17.
