Brothers Brought Down on Poaching Charges

Two western Massachusetts men pled guilty this week to poaching charges after shooting a nice buck on someone’s front lawn last December. 

Ira B. Doull of Worthington and his brother Seth O. Doull of Colrain pleaded guilty Tuesday to four of the six charges they were facing, including hunting from a motor vehicle, hunt deer with a rifle, hunt deer after hours, hunt gray fox in closed season

On December 2, 2023 after Massachusetts Environmental Police were tipped off that a witness saw someone blast a whitetail deer standing on a neighboring home’s lawn. According to the tip, the shots were delivered to the deer from the inside of a pickup truck that sat parked on the road.

Police were BOLO’d about the gray Toyota Tacoma pickup and eventually caught up with it not far from the scene of the crime. Inside the vehicle they found two brothers, each dressed in full camo with their weapons visible in the backseat. The pair were arrested on the spot while police seized a loaded .22 caliber rifle, another unspecified rifle, four muzzleloaders, two shotguns, a loaded handgun, over 300 rounds of ammunition and four thermal scopes. Officers also uncovered a dead gray fox that was later found to have been killed earlier in the day.

Later evidence suggested that the buck had been killed by three .22 caliber slugs.

The pair have since been ordered to pay $200 in fines and $600 in restitution for the deer and grey fox that were killed. They will also have their hunting licenses suspended for one year, which includes all states connected to the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.

_{Images: Massachusetts State Police}