TENNESSEE

Deer costs man nearly $10,000 under recent Tennessee law

News Sentinel staff

Killing the biggest buck at least one wildlife official has ever seen in Jefferson County netted a New Market man a nearly $10,000 fine Tuesday.

The fine was imposed under recent legislation that increases financial penalties on those convicted of illegally killing big game.

According to a report on Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s Facebook page, Clarence Robertson, 63, of New Market, shot an 11-point buck from his driveway Thanksgiving morning. The deer was in a hayfield across Piedmont Road where, the TWRA report states, Robertson did not have permission to hunt.

Gary Bradley, left, and Sterling Daniels of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency measure an 11-point buck illegally killed in Jefferson County on Thanksgiving Day.

The report said he drove his truck into the field and retrieved the deer.

Jefferson County Wildlife Officer Wayne Rich later seized the deer.

“It was probably the biggest buck I’ve ever seen in Jefferson County,” Rich said.

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The penalty was assessed according to a state law amended in 2015 to authorize a $1,000 fine for poaching an animal considered big game, including deer, bear, elk and turkey.

For a white-tailed deer with 11 or more antler points, an additional $750 penalty is imposed for each antler point, according to the law's restitution scale.

The amended legislation was lobbied for by a coalition of residents in Lincoln and Moore counties, who argued that poaching, especially on private lands, was becoming a safety issue for property owners.

Robertson pleaded guilty in Jefferson County General Sessions Court on Tuesday to shooting a deer across a public road and on property where he didn't have permission, according to TWRA. He was ordered to pay $9,250 in restitution, plus a $50 fine and $269 in court costs. Robertson's hunting privileges have been suspended until all fines and restitution are paid.

Robertson could not be reached for comment Thursday. The property owner where the deer was shot declined to comment.

The Jefferson County High School Future Farmers of America paid for the deer to be processed and donated the meat to charity through the Hunters for the Hungry program. The hide and antlers were given to the owner of the property from where the deer was taken.