CLINTON COUNTY — A man has been sentenced for unlawfully shooting a trophy white-tailed deer buck in November 2023.
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Christopher J. Alexander, 28, of Wilmington, was sentenced to pay the maximum restitution for the 18-point trophy buck, $35,071.73, according to The Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
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This was the largest restitution value for a single white-tailed deer in Ohio’s history, ODNR said.
Alexander claimed that the animal had been on property owned by his sister, Kristina Alexander when he harvested the deer and presented written permission from his sister to hunt on her land to a wildlife officer.
An ODNR investigation revealed that Alexander had illegally hunted the trophy buck on private property about 10 miles from his sister’s land.
Wildlife officers discovered this through cellphone data searches. They later learned that the written permission from his sister he had presented to wildlife officers had been falsified after the deer was killed to mislead authorities.
Alexander was also sentenced to complete five years of community control and serve six months at STAR Community Justice Center, a locked-down community-based correctional facility.
He received a 10-year hunting license revocation and forfeited all property seized as evidence, including the trophy deer’s antlers.
He must also pay $1,000 in fines, $1,000 to the Turn In a Poacher (TIP) program, $2,000 in restitution to media outlets, and all court costs.
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