Man Poaches, Freezes 20-Point Buck

Indiana conservation officers report that a Dubois County man has plead guilty to illegally taking a potential record-breaking whitetail buck.

Mark Gill, 56, shot a non-typical 20-point buck with more than 200 inches of antler in 2016 after previously taking a buck earlier in the year. In a clear violation of Indiana’s one-buck regulation, Gill caped out the second buck he killed and kept it frozen for a year with the intention of claiming the kill the following season. Once the 2017 season rolled around, he took the buck to the check station, and in doing so, committed another crime by providing false information to Indiana’s deer harvest information system.

After receiving information through the DNR TIP (Turn In a Poacher) program, Indiana DNR investigated. Gill was caught and plead guilty to two charges: unlawful taking of a whitetail deer, a class-B misdemeanor, and providing false information to a check station, a class-C misdemeanor.

As part of Gill’s plea agreement with the Dubois County prosecutor’s office, his hunting-license privileges are suspended for two years. Gill must also serve 100 hours of community service, serve 540 days probation, and pay $741 in fines and court costs including a $500 replacement fee.

Because Indiana is a member of the  Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, Gill’s Indiana hunting-license suspension will also result in a suspension of potential  hunting, fishing and trapping licenses in the other 47 member states (excluding Massachusetts and Hawaii).