Springfield IL- An investigation focused on the unlawful harvest of a 36-point non-typical deer scoring 261 5/8 and valued at $35,000 has resulted in charges against Illinois men. The three men were the center of an 11-month investigation by DNR and cited for numerous Wildlife Code violations, including the illegal take of a potential state-record whitetail deer. Each face charges through the Grundy County State's Attorney's Office and the Sangamon County State's Attorneys Office.
Charges were filed after a thorough investigation with assistance from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Alberta Sustainable Resources Department, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Department of Conservation, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
The following individuals were cited on charges related to unlawfully taking a total of 24 deer in Illinois and Canada over a 10-year period. Specific charges were filed as follows:
Christopher Kiernan (age 45, of Minooka, IL)
•11 counts of hunting without permission of landowner and being an accessory to the charge
•19 counts of unlawful possession of illegally taken deer
•5 counts of hunting with invalidated permit
•5 counts of unlawfully taking of deer
•2 counts of falsifying harvest records
•1 count each of: Failure to report harvest on the same day as killed, Fail to tag deer as required
Garret Armstrong (age 31, of Avon, NY)
•9 counts of hunting without permission of landowner and being an accessory to the charge
•8 counts of hunting with an invalidated permit
•4 counts of unlawful possession of illegally taken deer
•2 counts of unlawfully taking of deer
•1 count each: Failure to tag deer as required,
•Failure to report harvest as required
•Falsifying harvest record
Larry Smith (age 49, of Williamsburg, Ontario, Canada)
•1 count each of the following:
•Hunting without permission of landowner
•Hunting with invalidated permit
•Failure to tag deer as required
•Unlawful possession of illegally taken deer
•Unlawfully taking of deer
•Failure to report harvest as required
•Falsifying harvest record
