An anonymous tip to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s NC WILDTIP (Turn-In-Poachers) program, powered by tip411, resulted in the arrests of two individuals who have been found guilty on 15 counts of unlawfully taking deer at night with the use and aid of an artificial light, referred to as spotlighting. In total, the anonymous tip resulted in five people receiving more than 160 combined charges related to the illegal hunting and killing of deer.
The guilty parties have been ordered to pay $9,030 in replacement costs for illegally killing 15 deer at night in Duplin County, along with fines and hunting licenses being revoked.
“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.”
In November 2023, NC WILDTIP received an anonymous tip about this incident and included a photo of the suspect posing with 15 antlerless white-tailed deer.
In the six months ending in May, NCWRC has received 598 tips through NC WILDTIP and rewarded a total of $3,478. Anyone with information on illegal hunting can anonymously submit information through the secured online reporting tool located on the agency’s website. Information may also be submitted by texting keyword WILDTIP and the tip information to 847411.
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