Rensselaer County man issued 12 tickets for luring, killing doe
EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An unnamed Rensselaer County man was issued 12 tickets after luring deer with a bait pile and shooting them without possessing any doe tags.
On November 29, 2022, Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) received a report about a dead deer with a crossbow bolt sticking out of it on a property in East Greenbush. Once an ECO arrived, they noticed the carcass was several days old. Scavengers picked at the carcass, which revealed the stomach to be filled with corn. The ECO concluded that with little crop fields surrounding the area, one of the neighboring properties likely had a backyard bait pile where the deer was shot. The ECO took photos of the scene and collected more evidence, however, the investigation had no people of interest to interview.
On December 21, 2022, the same property owner contacted ECOs, reporting a second dead deer on his lawn in nearly the same location. The deer had cut marks consistent with a crossbow bolt. The ECO backtracked a faint blood trail in the snow to the backyard of a neighboring property.
The ECO returned the next day with a Lieutenant. The two officers followed the blood trail and discovered a large area of corn and birdseed strewn adjacent to a homemade shed, allegedly used as a hunting blind. Inside of the shed, the officers say they found a crossbow with a thermal scope mounted and multiple crossbow bolts with blood and hair on them. The homeowner was contacted and interviewed regarding the blood trail leading to his home. The subject allegedly claimed to be a hunter, however, had not hunted recently. After being presented with evidence, he later admitted to shooting three does over the bait pile without possessing any doe tags.
The unnamed subject was issued 12 tickets for offenses including the illegal taking of protected wildlife, hunting over bait, illegal taking of antlerless deer without deer management permits, hunting with a crossbow during the late season without the proper license, and multiple tagging violations.