Lititz men accused of poaching
By P.J. REILLY, Staff Writer
Two Lititz men have been accused of going on a "thrill-kill" spree last month when they allegedly gunned down three deer in Dauphin County from the inside of a truck.
Shane Shue, 22, and Jeffrey Trogdon, 32 — no street addresses available — were charged Feb. 11 by the Pennsylvania Game Commission for killing three deer at night and attempting to kill a fourth on Swatara Road in Derry Township Jan. 10 and Jan. 17.
"People don't kill deer like this for food," said Mike Doherty, the Game Commission's wildlife conservation officer in Dauphin County. "It's a thrill kill."
The two alleged poachers face fines and loss of their hunting privileges if they are convicted of the charges.
According to a Game Commission report, officers found a dead deer in a field along Swatara Road on Jan. 12.
A second deer was found the next day, a short distance away.
Examinations of the deer indicated they had been killed with a .257-caliber rifle.
According to Doherty, the area where the deer were found is mostly farmland and is sparsely populated.
"These guys felt pretty comfortable doing what they were doing, probably because nobody is around," he said.
Officers staked out the area the following weekend and saw someone shining a spotlight across the fields from a truck shortly after midnight on Jan. 17.
The officers then watched a passenger in the truck fire a shot from the window at a group of deer grazing in the field.
The shot missed the deer.
The officers stopped the vehicle and found Shue and Trogdon inside with a spotlight and loaded rifle, according to the Game Commission report.
Bloodstains were found in the bed and on the sides of the truck and "evidence" was found to link the men to the two deer killed and left to rot the previous weekend.
Because the investigation is ongoing, Doherty declined to say what evidence was found.
When confronted by the officers about the bloodstains in the truck, Shue and Trogdon admitted they had killed another deer and had taken it home to be butchered, according to the report.
Officers seized two rifles and two spotlights from Shue and Trogdon.
In addition, they took 50 pounds of venison from Shue's freezer at home.
Doherty said that meat will be made into deer jerky and sent to U.S. soldiers serving overseas.
http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/234011
