Three charged with selling deer, night hunting

PLYMOUTH – Game wardens issued summons to three people from Plymouth and Winterport this week, wrapping up a deer-selling and night-hunting case they have been working on all month.

Charged with one count each of possession of deer killed in closed season were Kim Alton, 42, of Plymouth, Ricky Gray, 48, of Plymouth and James Tweedie, 48, of Winterport.

Alton and Gray also were charged with one count each of selling deer, and Tweedie was charged with one count of buying deer.

Each of the counts carries a fine of $1,000, a sentence of three days in jail and loss of hunting privileges, explained Sgt. Doug Tibbetts, a game warden with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Tibbetts and Warden David Georgia delivered the summons.

Charged earlier in the case were two teen-agers wardens said they found “actively hunting” at night in Plymouth after the wardens received information that illegal hunting activities might be going on at Alton’s Ridge Road home. Both are due to appear Oct. 3 in District Court in Newport.

Wardens said they also found a small amount of marijuana in the home, but no charges have been filed in relation to it.

The 15-year-old who wardens say was found hunting with a .22-caliber rifle is charged with night hunting, selling deer, possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle, and lighting a deer. The 16-year-old, whom they said was driving the vehicle, was charged with night hunting.

Five wardens later executed a search warrant at Alton’s Ridge Road home, and said they found blood and hair indicating that deer meat had been cut up there.

They also found a loaded AK-47 assault rifle under the 15-year-old’s bed pillow, and a short-handled shotgun underneath Alton’s bed.

Wardens did not immediately charge adults in the case, saying that they wanted to wait until the woman was released from jail, where she was incarcerated on a traffic violation.

Alton and Gray are scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 7, and Tweedie on Dec. 5, all in District Court in Newport.

Tibbetts said the 15-year-old told wardens he didn’t know who owned the semiautomatic assault-style rifle. Now, Tibbetts said, “we’ve got a name of an owner on that, somebody from Palmyra, however, we haven’t heard from them.”

Tibbetts said earlier this month that it was not illegal to own such a rifle, but that the 30-round magazine found in it would make it illegal for hunting purposes because it can hold more than the allowed five rounds when used for hunting.

In addition, wardens said the shotgun, which they found under Alton’s bed, appears to be a stolen weapon according to a records check. They do not know who owned the gun.

Wardens said that at the time of the search, the 15-year-old and another juvenile – not involved in the night-hunting incident – were living in Alton’s house, but was not related to either Alton or Gray. The 16-year-old lives at home with his parents in Plymouth.

The wardens notified the Department of Human Services about the juveniles not living with family. Tibbetts said that when the summons were issued this week, those juveniles had moved from the home, but now there appeared to be two other minors residing there.

Tibbetts added that Alton turned over to wardens some “mechanic-type tools” that didn’t belong to her, saying she hadn’t seen them before.