Hunting crime leads to AK-47 Two teens arrested; deer parts, guns found

PLYMOUTH – A loaded AK-47 assault rifle and a stolen shotgun were among the items confiscated during an investigation of a night-hunting and deer-selling case in Plymouth and Winterport.

Two juveniles have been charged in the case, which game wardens said Thursday involved multiple instances of night hunting, and three adults also are expected to be charged.

Sgt. David Tibbetts and Warden Kevin Adam said during a press conference at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in Bangor that the department was tipped off that illegal hunting activities might be occurring from a residence on Ridge Road in Plymouth.

Adam arrested the boys “actively hunting” from a truck in Plymouth the night of Sept. 7, he said. A 15-year-old was using a loaded .22-caliber rifle and a large flashlight. A 16-year-old was driving the truck.

The vehicle does not belong to anyone involved in the case, Tibbetts said, and it is not at issue legally.

The next evening, Tibbetts and Wardens Adam, Dave Georgia, Dan Scott and Debbie Palman executed a search warrant at the Ridge Road home.

In the basement, wardens found blood and hair indicating that deer meat had been cut up there.

They also found the loaded assault rifle with a 30-round magazine underneath the bed pillow of the 15-year-old, who wardens say claims he didn’t know to whom the weapon belonged.

It is not illegal to own such a gun, Tibbetts said, because it is semiautomatic rather than automatic. It would be illegal to use it for hunting, however, because it holds more than a total of five rounds.

The teen-ager apparently was not related to other occupants of the residence, which include a man and a woman – one who owns the house, the other a renter – and another juvenile not involved in the case, wardens said.

They believe the 15-year-old is not now in school, and that his father lives in Pittsfield. The boy was living with these unrelated people, Tibbetts said, apparently because of problems with his family. The sergeant described the Ridge Road residence as “where teen-agers go.”

Authorities apparently have received other complaints about activity at the residence, and wardens said a “civil misdemeanor” amount of marijuana also was recovered.

Underneath the woman’s bed, wardens said, they found a short-handled shotgun that they believe to have been stolen, although they weren’t sure from where.

After the search in Plymouth, a second warrant was obtained for a residence in Winterport, where several packages of deer meat were seized Sept. 9.

The 15-year-old has been charged with night hunting, selling deer, possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle, and with lighting a deer. Wardens also notified the Department of Human Services about the fact the youngster was not living with family.

The 16-year-old has been charged with night hunting. He lives in Plymouth with his parents and is believed to be enrolled in school, wardens said.

Charges have not been filed against the adults yet, but wardens said they expected to issue summonses to the man and woman residing in the Ridge Road home and to the man at the Winterport residence.

“The investigation has revealed that there were multiple offenses of night hunting by the juveniles, and offenses of buying and selling deer by juvenile and adults,” wardens said.

Adam said he was not worried that the men might leave the area because they are longtime Maine residents.

The woman also is not considered a flight risk because she is in jail in connection with a motor vehicle case. Wardens said she had been at the Penobscot County Jail but since has been transferred to another facility.

The penalty for night hunting is a mandatory $1,000 fine, three days in jail and loss of hunting privileges.

For buying or selling deer, the penalty is the same.

“People are encouraged to call their local game warden to report violations of fish and game laws,” wardens said. They also may call Operation Game Thief at (800) 253-7887, and do not have to give their name.