Two Upshur County Men Sentenced for Illegal Deer Kill

Conservation Officer Jeff Craig poses with the illegally killed 10-pointer in Upshur County

Two Upshur County men, who decided to open the deer season early, will pay dearly for the crime.   

Conservation Officers with the West Virginia DNR arrested 32-year olds Terry Lynn Pumphrey of Ireland, W.Va. and Heath Brian Foster of Rock Cave, W.Va. after discovering the pair had killed a trophy buck during the early morning hours of August 15th.   Officers discovered confiscated the 10-point buck, still in velvet.  The deer had been spotlighted and shot in the Rock Cave area.

The investigation led to guilty pleas by the pair to charges of illegal possession of wildlife, conspiring to violate state game laws, use of an artificial light to take deer, hunting during closed season, carrying a loaded gun in a motor vehicle, and shooting within 500 feet of a residence.

An Upshur County magistrate sentenced the two September 11th.   Each will spend 130-days in jail, pay fines in excess of $760 plus court costs and will be charged $100 each as a replacement cost for the deer they killed.  Additionally both Pumphrey and Foster’s hunting license will be suspended for two years.