Within the county court system of Washington County, three males entered guilty pleas to the charge of illegally murdering roughly twenty-two deer.
According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, in December of 2023, Ezra McClelland, age 20, Julian Marth, age 21, and Grant Bamberger, age 20, all from Washington, were responsible for the theft of 21 deer.
On December 9th, it was reported that nine deer had been shot and have been left lying around.
The Game Commission received a second call on December 17 reporting the same kind of behavior that had occurred in the same region; this time, twelve dead deer were discovered and reported.
On top of that, the actors did not make any attempt to retrieve those deer.
Antlered bucks made up six of the five deer that were shot.
During the second occurrence, a witness was able to provide the license plate number of the vehicle that was driven by the suspect.
As part of the inquiry, the county sheriffs of Washington and Allegheny counties collaborated with one another to collect evidence using guard dogs. Moreover, they conducted interviews with local inhabitants as well as other witnesses.
As a result of the inquiry, the authorities were able to recognize the three individuals and put them under arrest.
According to the Game Commission, all three of the males entered guilty pleas.
In addition to paying a fine of $6,300, they will be required to serve seven days in county jail and will lose their hunting permits for life.
There will be no return of the firearms that were used in the poaching binge because they were confiscated.
