A back road in Mount Pleasant Township, just east of Pittsburgh yielded charges being laid against three Pennsylvania men in what seems to be a poaching operation. The Pennsylvania Game Commission received a tip about the possibility of illegal poaching taking place in the area from a nearby homeowner.
When investigating the tip, officials caught 19 year-old Charles Harr Jr. poaching whitetail deer from the comfort of his pickup truck.
“In the vehicle was a loaded firearm next to him, as well as a freshly-killed deer,” Officer Brian Singer, of the Game Commission told CBS Pittsburgh.
It didn’t take long for the officers to figure out this was not an isolated incident. The officers later received information regarding two other individuals that were allegedly involved in killing deer that evening. Ben Daniels, 18, and Travis Kolick, 23, were later apprehended and found with additional deer that evening.
In total 11 deer were discovered to have been taken unlawfully and Game Commission officials believe the father of one of the accused, Charles Harr Sr., 45, was involved in the operation as well.
“The father, we believe, was in the process of helping his son dispose of or butcher these deer,” said Singer.
The accused face charges paired with hefty fines and could face possible jail time and the loss of their hunting licenses for an extended period of time.
