Five men from Mississippi were sentenced in southern Illinois federal court after admitting to using spotlights to illegally hunt white-tailed deer in Massac, Jefferson, Union, Pope and Clark counties.
According to court documents, between 2018 and 2022, the men pleaded guilty to use spotlights to scout white-tail deer, shoot the deer, and transport the deer to Mississippi for processing. Typically, the poachers would mount the deer’s head, antlers or other parts of its body.
The sentences range between three to five years of probation, restitution between two to 75 thousand dollars, and fines up to 10 thousand dollars.
“This was not an isolated incident of unlawful hunting; rather, it was a calculated, multi-year operation that exploited Illinois's prized wildlife resources for personal gain,” said Assistant Director Douglas Ault, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
