Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, December 3, 1994                   TAG: 9412050042
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEARISBURG                                 LENGTH: Medium

GILES COUNTY WORKER CHARGED WITH SHOOTING FAKE DEER

Daniel Hubert Spicer, 47, of Narrows has been charged with hunting deer with an illegal caliber weapon, discharging a weapon from the road, and trespassing to hunt on posted property.

The misdemeanor summonses indicate that Spicer was driving a county vehicle when the offenses occurred Nov. 22 in the Sugar Run community, south of Pearisburg off Virginia 100. A Jan. 17 court date has been set in Giles County General District Court.

Spicer, who had worked part time for the county's animal control office since mid-August, has been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation, said County Administrator Janet Tuckwiller.

Lt. Steve Vinson of Department of Game and Inland Fisheries District 1, said many people have been charged this hunting season with the same offenses Spicer is accused of committing.

"We have a district that covers six counties, [and] we have made better than 60 arrests," of people who have shot at the deer decoys, Vinson said. District 1 includes the counties of Giles, Craig, Montgomery, Pulaski, Floyd and Carroll.

Vinson said one recent arrest involved a Pulaski County cab driver who was on the job when game wardens say he shot at a decoy.

In recent years, game wardens and law enforcement agencies across the state have turned to decoy deer as a weapon against illegal hunters who shoot from the roadside.

Vinson said roadside hunters are particularly worrisome to game wardens because of the possibility that they could inadvertently strike livestock or even people who are on their own property.

"We have used it enough that some people are real cautious and don't shoot at it," and instead take the time to examine the apparent prize more closely through a scope. "Others shoot multiple times."

The decoys are used several times. Game wardens move them to various locations, then have them patched up when they've taken too many shots.

A decoy can cost as much as $400. They are generally purchased from taxidermists, Vinson said, although they sometimes are donated.

"We patch them up and use them as much as we can. They're expensive," Vinson said.