An anonymous tip to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s NC WILDTIP (Turn-In-Poachers) resulted in the arrest of two individuals who were found guilty on 15 counts of unlawfully taking deer at night with the use and aid of an artificial light, referred to as spotlighting.
Dylan Scott of New Hanover County and Nicholas Rackley of Duplin County were ordered to pay $9,030 in replacement costs for illegally killing 15 deer at night in Duplin County. Scott was fined $1,500, his hunting license will be revoked for 10 years, and he received five years of supervised probation. Rackley was ordered to pay $750 and his hunting license will be revoked for five years.
“It’s a big penalty we hope sends a strong message,” said Captain Chad Arnold, who heads NCWRC’s Investigative Unit and NC WILDTIP program. “We typically don’t see punishments like this, but we also typically don’t find individuals who kill 15 deer in one night’s illegal escapades.”