Two Mississippi men pleaded guilty to multiple wildlife violations after poaching white-tailed deer in southeast Ohio and were ordered to pay a combined $15,054.37 in restitution, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

Dawson Brown, 25, of Poplarville, Miss., pleaded guilty to seven charges in Belmont County Court related to unlawfully taking white-tailed deer. The charges include hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle, hunting deer with a firearm during the archery season, hunting outside of legal shooting hours, possessing untagged deer parts, hunting without a nonresident hunting license, hunting without a nonresident deer permit, and spotlighting. Two of the antler sets were analyzed for trophy restitution and scored 166-2/8 and 154-5/8. Brown was ordered to pay $13,169.37 in restitution and $865 in fines and court costs, serve three years of probation, and forfeit his hunting privileges in Ohio for three years.

Five firearms, a spotlight, venison, and four antlered deer skulls were forfeited to the Division of Wildlife. Brown was sentenced to 390 days in jail, with all but 30 days suspended.

Jase D. Smith, 24, of Poplarville, Miss., pleaded guilty to four charges in Muskingum County Court. The charges were hunting without permission, hunting without a nonresident deer permit, hunting without a nonresident hunting license, and failing to game check a deer after harvest. He was ordered to pay $1,885 in restitution and $249.25 in fines and court costs, serve 30 days in jail, and forfeit his hunting privileges in Ohio for three years. A crossbow, spotlights, and deer mount were forfeited to the Division of Wildlife. Read more