A Maryland crossbow hunter was recently convicted of trespassing on posted property to poach a “mega-buck.” The 17-point buck, which would have been a new Boone & Crockett state record, was killed by Ronald Wayne Roe in September 2016. Roe, who was convicted last February of “multiple poaching charges” appealed the decision and, on March 5, entered “Alford pleas to trespassing on posted property and hunting without written permission,” Kent County News reports.

Huge 17-point buck would have been new B&C state record
An Alford plea allows a defendant in a criminal case to enter a guilty plea without actually admitting to the crime. Roe entered this type of plea because, while not actually confessing, he knew there was enough evidence for a prosecutor to convict him. Roe was sentenced to 60 days of jail (suspended) and probation for 18 months. He already paid $2,000 in restitution and completed a one-year suspension of his hunting privileges, according to Kent County News.
SPECIAL WEAPONS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DEER POACHERS
Roe trespassed onto Joseph Bogdan’s property. Bogdan, according to a Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) press release, had been after the buck for years. Initially, Bogdan congratulated Roe, but “it went sour” after the details of the kill were discovered.
“The deer was baited, killed and gutted on my property,” said Bogdan.
Roe was ordered to forfeit the antlers, hide and meat to the state. Yet, according to a MDNR press release, the judge ruled that Roe could “pay for a replica of the deer antlers”; however, would not be permitted to share the replica antlers on social media or in public or “benefit in any way from them.”
In the words of Bogdan, this buck was “the kind of deer that makes a good neighbor a bad neighbor.”