Lakeport >> On Aug. 31 Nicolas George Stuckey, age 24 and a resident of Cobb, pled “no contest” to using an artificial light during hours of darkness — an activity known as spotlighting — to kill a deer and to killing a doe. Superior Court Judge Michael S. Lunas sentenced Stuckey to three years probation, and ordered him to pay a fine of $1,915. As a condition of probation, it was also ordered that Stuckey is not to hunt or kill any animal or bird with any kind of weapon for 3 years, and he was ordered not to possess any rifle, handgun, shotgun, bow or crossbow for 3 years, anywhere where game animals or birds can be hunted.
On May 8 State Fish and Wildlife Officer Doug Willson received a report that Nicolas George Stuckey may have illegally killed a deer the day prior on the Black Rock Golf Course on Golf Road.
According to reports received from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Officer Willson began an investigation and located evidence that a dead deer had recently been located in the vehicle reported to have been involved in the poaching incident. Stuckey was located by Officer Willson and in response to questioning initially advised the officer that he had hit a deer the night before with his vehicle and he had cut it up and left it in another location. Upon further questioning and investigation, Stuckey admitted that he had not hit the deer with a vehicle, but had shot it by the golf course after dark. He admitted he brought it home and had hid the carcass across the street. Officer Willson recovered the deer and found that Stuckey had not yet cut the deer up and that it was a doe.
Officer Willson located a witness who told the officer that, the night prior, Stuckey had stated he wanted to look for a buck he had been seeing near the golf course. While looking for the buck Stuckey saw a deer’s eyes glowing in the dark, shot it with a .22 rifle, and it turned out to be a doe. The witness said the doe was standing on the golf course where the golfers tee off when Stuckey shot it. Officer Willson located the place where the doe was killed and determined it was shot less than 100 yards from two structures.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff charged Stuckey with eight counts of violating the Fish and Game Code.
