Police chief in Maine fined for baiting deer
A police chief in Piscataquis County, Maine was found guilty of baiting deer on Thursday, a crime during open hunting season.
South Berwick Police Chief Dana Lajoie represented himself in court and denied the charge, but was convicted and fined $900.
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The chief reportedly placed piles of apples along a trail near his house in early October to lure deer out and shoot them from an observation post, which is also illegal. Game wardens discovered both the piles of apples and a nearby tree stand.
Wardens returned to that spot on the first day of the gun hunting season, Oct. 31, 2015, and reportedly found the chief standing in a tree above the bait.
He was fined $400 each for baiting and hunting from an observation point. The judge also fined Lajoie $100 for not wearing orange while he was hunting.
"They treated him just like anyone else," Piscataquis County District Attorney Christopher Almy said of the game wardens who discovered the bait around the chief's property. "He is not entitled to skirt fish and game laws."
South Berwick Town Manager Perry Ellsworth reportedly said he was undecided whether he would punish Lajoie. The two were expected to meet on Friday.
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Colin is Mashable's US & World Reporter. He previously interned at Foreign Policy magazine and The American Prospect. Colin is a graduate from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. When he's not at Mashable, you can most likely find him eating or playing some kind of sport.
