Two men have pleaded guilty to poaching-related charges in Greene County after a trespassing report to conservation officers.
Forty-one-year-old Brett Cranston of Jefferson admitted to spotting a deer six miles south of Jefferson in December and firing shots at the animal. He followed the deer on county roads for around nine miles and firing shots at it until he was able to catch the trophy buck in a cornfield southeast of Cooper.
Cranston pleaded guilty to trespassing while deer hunting, using motor vehicle to hunt deer and shooting within 200 yards of residence. He was fined $665, assessed $8,000 in damages, had his hunting privileges suspended for one year and forfeited his shotgun and the deer.
Forty-two-year-old Jeramiah Pedersen of Greene Mountain helped Cranston chase the deer and pleaded guilty to not having a hunting license and trespassing while hunting deer. Pedersen was fined $416.