Natural Resources Police Nabs Seven Deer Poachers

December 29, 2015

Seven deer poachers were caught recently by Maryland Natural Resources Police officers in cases ranging from the Eastern Shore to western Maryland.

Four men will be in Queen Anne’s District Court on Jan. 27 to face 30 charges of illegal hunting as the result of an extensive investigation by three NRP officers, county deputy sheriffs and Maryland State Police.

Officers responding to a call on Dec. 13 about the sound of gunfire near Merrick Corner Road found two men in a field and a deer carcass along the road.

After talking to residents and tipsters, officers charged Michael Tyler Brown, 18, of Centreville, Chad Alexander Doney, 21, of Worton, Heath Chaney Dorrell, 20, of Centreville, and Mervyn Jay Downes, 21, of Ridgely with: hunting during a closed season; hunting at night; hunting from a vehicle; having a loaded weapon in a vehicle; hunting on private land without written permission; and hunting with spotlights.

Brown also was charged with shooting on or across a road. Doney and Downes also were each charged with two counts of trespassing.

If found guilty, each man could face up to a year in jail and fines in excess of $9,000.

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In Baltimore County, officers arrested two poachers early Sunday morning on 10 natural resources violations.

Shortly after 5 a.m., Baltimore County officers responding to a call about gunfire stopped a vehicle on Cromwell Bridge Road near Loch Raven High School. A Natural Resources Police officer arrived and determined the two were hunting.

Hugo Cervantes Salazar, 24, and Denise Jasmine Garza 21, both of Dundalk, each were charged with: casting rays with an implement (spotlighting); hunting on Sunday; hunting at night; having a loaded weapon in the vehicle; and hunting without a license.

The officers seized a .22-caliber rifle, ammunition and a spotlight.

A date has not been set in Harford District Court.

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In Garrett County, Jeffrey Eugene Spear, 35, of Friendsville, received two citations Sunday for hunting out of season after an officer traced two antlerless deer carcasses to him.

While on patrol at about 11 a.m., the officer noticed fresh tire tracks leading off a paved road in Friendsville. The officer followed the tracks and found the first freshly butchered carcass on the dirt road.

Further up the dirt road, the officer found a second antlerless carcass and a burlap sack containing a small “button” buck, which had recently been butchered.

The officer noticed tire tracks with a distinctive tread mark and followed them.

After checking several homes and speaking with residents, the officer noticed a pick-up truck behind a garage on New Gravel Hill Road that had tires that matched the trail.

Spear acknowledged that he had killed an antlerless deer and the button buck on his property the previous day. However, he denied killing the third deer. He told the officer that he killed the two deer with his Browning Medallion .243 Winchester caliber bolt-action rifle.

His Big Game Harvest Record did not show any deer kills for the 2015-16 season. The only legal deer hunting on Dec. 26 was for antlered deer taken with a muzzleloader.

He provided a written statement and the officer seized the rifle and the deer meat, which was donated to charity.

If found guilty of both counts, Spear could be fined as much as $3,000. A date has not been set in Garrett District Court.