Hunter Gets Stiff Sentence For Poaching 17-Point Buck On Neighbor's Land

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A man has been convicted of illegally killing a 17-point buck on his neighbor's property in September.

Ronald Wayne Roe, 28, of Worton, was found guilty on all counts of trespassing and poaching, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Joseph Bogdan, the landowner who had targeted the massive buck for several years only to have Roe shoot it, told the judge it was "the kind of deer that makes a good neighbor a bad neighbor."

District Judge John Nunn III sentenced Roe to pay $5,000 in restitution and perform 80 hours of community service, as mandated by the state's anti-poaching law. Roe also received a $500 fine – $250 suspended – and three years of unsupervised probation. His hunting privileges were suspended for two years.

Roe is only the third man sentenced under Maryland's new anti-poaching law, which took affect in June.

At first, Bogdan said, he congratulated Roe on the kill. But as the facts came out, "it went sour after that."

"The deer was baited, killed and gutted on my property," he said.

A scorer for the Boone and Crockett Club, which measures deer antlers for possible records, said the rack was 212 7/8 total inches. That would have secured the club's top spot for Maryland crossbow hunters and a top 10 overall state ranking.

The case began on Sept. 12, when officers received a call from a Kent County resident about a suspected case of illegal hunting involving a large buck.

An officer located two piles of bait on Bogdan's property, adjacent to land owned by Roe and where he had placed a tree stand.

The officer also found a blood trail leading from the bait to the spot where a buck had been field dressed.

Roe allegedly told police that he shot the deer with a crossbow on his property but that it died on his neighbor's property.

However, friends of his testified that they helped drag the carcass to his property and then to his vehicle.

Bogdan's property was posted with "No Trespassing" signs in numerous locations.

The new anti-poaching law requires judges to order restitution and community service in cases of deer poaching. The monetary penalty is based on the measurement of the antlers scored on the Boone and Crockett Club system. A buck with antlers scoring 150 or fewer points requires restitution of $2,000 to $5,000 and 80 hours of community service. A buck with antlers scoring more than 150 points requires restitution of $5,000 to $10,000 and 80 hours of community service. A deer without antlers requires restitution of $300 to $500 and 40 hours of community service.

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