DNR arrests man for shooting deer out of season

A Syracuse, Indiana man was arrested by Indiana Conservation Officers on multiple charges, the most serious being shooting deer out of season.

According to a news release from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Law Enforcement, Tracy Coates, 38, shot a large buck deer from the roadway in the area of Bowser Road and County Road 375 East in Kosciusko County on January 2, 2012.

Indiana Conservation Officer Nathan Hooley found out about the shooting and began patrolling the area with another officer in belief that Coates would return to retrieve the buck.

At around 11 p.m., Hooley spotted Coates vehicle and a short time later saw Coates and another person walking in a cornfield.

Hooley confronted Coates in the cornfield and Coates initially told Hooley he was looking for a deer his girlfriend had struck with a car. When questioned further, Coates admitted to shooting the buck deer from the roadway. Coates stated he and his girlfriend had observed the deer while driving home from a nearby friends’ house. Coates then dropped off his girlfriend and returned to the area with his muzzleloader rifle. He found the deer again and rolled down his window and shined his spotlight on the deer with one hand while he rested his gun on his window and shot at the deer with the other.

Coates then returned home and called a friend to help him retrieve the deer. The friend was not charged in this case. Coates admitted to having already harvested an antlered deer this season therefore his attempt to take another antlered deer put him in violation of the one buck rule per season. Coates’ fish and wildlife criminal record indicates he has prior convictions for similar offenses in 2001 and 2004. Hooley charged Coates with six misdemeanor violations and seized his muzzleloader and spotlight for evidence.