A Tennessee man was convicted for poaching deer on prohibited ground, namely the stretch surrounding the West Tennessee State Penitentiary, leading to a hefty fine and the loss of his hunting privileges. Terry Sellers, a 53-year-old resident of Henning, Tennessee, was ordered to pay the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) restitution amounting to $17,500 and will be banned from hunting for six years, as reported by WSMV. Sellers pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal possession and one count of hunting without permission, according to court documents.
During an investigation that was sparked by a report of a distinctive 15-point, double drop-tine buck being killed, Lieutenant Tim Ward of the TWRA followed leads that culminated in a warrant for Sellers' cell phone data. This data, having tied Sellers to the illegal kills on the penitentiary grounds, helped to substantiate the charges against him. Over the course of the investigation, it was found that Sellers had hunted down and illegally killed three deer, with their combined antler scores grossing an impressive 491 5/8 inches.
The contraband deer, as reported by WKRN, are set to be used by the TWRA for educational displays, to which Sellers has been mandated to pay an additional $850 to a taxidermist. The poacher's actions have stirred a broader conversation on wildlife conservation and the enforcement of hunting laws on state-owned properties.
Aside from the fine and the loss of hunting privileges, the case brought to light the often-unnoticed wildlife that frequents areas off-limits to hunters. Lt. Ward, familiar with the killed deer as they were known to frequent the land around the state prison, leveraged a ping warrant to track down the culprit, completed by several interviews with witnesses, as per statements obtained by FOX 17. The warrant effectively allowed for real-time tracking of Seller's phone, corroborating his presence at the scene of the crime.
