One Virginia hunter is in serious trouble after killing a beloved Hollywood Buck. He killed the deer at the Hollywood Cemetery, and he's now facing jail time.
There were two hunters involved in the slaying. Each faces their own separate charges. One of the hunters plead guilty to 20 misdemeanors. Jason Walters admitted to poaching the animal while in Richmond General District Court. As a result, he will have to pay $13,000 in fines. Additionally, the judge sentenced him to 80 months in jail. However, they suspended 76 months, so he will have to serve 4 months.
"Walters will be serving an active sentence of 4 months in the Richmond Jail, and have nearly 7 years of suspended jail time over his head," Denise Anderson, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for the Virginia Commonwealth said. "All provisions are conditioned upon him complying with all other terms of his plea agreement, maintaining good behavior and obeying all laws of the Commonwealth and the City of Richmond."
Additionally, Walters won't be able to hunt for 25 years. He had his hunting license revoked for 100 years, with 75 years suspended.
Meanwhile, hunter Alan Proffitt also pleaded guilty to killing the Hollywood Buck.
"Alan Proffitt pleaded guilty to all 6 charges. He received a $250 fine on the 5 counts, which were not bailable," Anderson stated. "On the remaining count he received 6 months in jail with 5 months suspended. His hunting license privileges were also revoked for 5 years with 4 years suspended on each of the 6 counts, totaling a 6-year loss of his hunting privileges, also conditioned upon him maintaining good behavior and obeying all laws of the Commonwealth and the City of Richmond."
Hunters Kill Hollywood Buck
The incident gained attention when Walters shared a photo of himself with the Hollywood Buck online. He shared it to a Facebook page run by Jeff Phillips called Star City Whitetails.
"This one particular hunter had shared a couple bucks in November of last year that were pretty nice deer, and then he sent in a third one ... Ultimately, all three deer were harvested in that cemetery, but the third one was a real showstopper," Phillips told Fox News Digital. "I posted on my page, and within probably 10 minutes, somebody that follows my page sent me a private message, with some pictures that a wildlife photographer in that Richmond area had taken of this deer."
He realized it was the beloved Hollywood Buck. Cue a visit from the authorities to Phillips for more info on the hunters.
"The illegal killing of the Hollywood Cemetery buck is a serious violation of Virginia's wildlife laws. And will be a priority for the Conservation Police Officers assigned to the investigation until all leads have been exhausted. All evidence has been collected. And those involved have been charged," Major Ryan Shuler, Deputy Chief of DWR Law Enforcement, stated in the release.
The Hollywood Buck had made a name for itself. It frequently roamed the cemetery grounds.
"The deer with a rack and antlers like that needs to be 6 or 7 years old," said Phillips. "It would need to be [that age] before they would be at their potential and that deer was able to live out its life [or rather] the majority of its life, you know, in privacy and protection."
He added, "But the key is that there were deer living in that neighborhood, ultimately, or in that cemetery, and there's no hunting there."
