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Man shoots deer in front of duplex, DNR investigates

MOUNT PLEASANT — A dead deer found shot in the middle of a neighborhood, a set of hunting boot tracks, and a strange conversation led DNR officers to a man they say shot a deer in a residential Mount Pleasant area, using the glow of a nearby streetlight to illuminate his target.

The incident occurred early in the recent deer hunting season, when Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officers Mike Haas and Dan Robinson received several complaints about a deer that had been shot inside the city limits.

They found an antlerless deer lying in the middle of a residential area. Its fatal wounds showed it had been shot with archery equipment, according to a recent DNR law enforcement report.

The officers followed the blood trail to a nearby duplex, where they were able to pick out a unique set of hunting boot tracks from all the footprints in the snow.

“Through interviews, the COs narrowed down their suspects to two different individuals and interviewed both gentlemen however, both men denied any knowledge of the deer,” the report said. “Later in the day, the COs returned to the scene after receiving additional information from one of the complainants who had found the dead deer. The complainant described a strange interaction with an individual that matched the description of one of the suspects.”

The officers re-interviewed that suspect, who then admitted he’d shot the deer with his bow while standing in his front yard. He showed officers the boots that matched the prints they’d found in the snow near the blood trail.

He told officers he’d shot the deer about 2:30 a.m., using the glow from the nearby street light.

The man did not have a hunting license. Officers also told him that by shooting the deer in the residential area, he’d violated the city’s projectile ordinance.

Criminal charges against the man were pending with the Isabella County Prosecutor’s Office.

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