Londonderry men admit role in deer hunting operation
February 4, 2008
By JOSH O'GORMAN Herald Staff
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A pair of Londonderry men pleaded guilty
to hunting deer out of season after they were caught in a Fish and
Wildlife sting operation, with one of the men pretending to be his
own brother to avoid charges.
Lee W. McIntyre, 46, and Rodney A. Hart, 56, each pleaded guilty
in District Court to one count of taking deer out of season. In
addition, Hart pleaded guilty to one count of providing false
information to a law enforcement officer with the intent of
implicating another.
In an affidavit filed with the court, Fish and Wildlife Warden
George Scribner wrote that on Oct. 27 at about 6:10 p.m. he placed a
replica of an antlerless deer in a field on private property on
Holden Hill Road in Weston. Scribner said he had received three
different complaints of people hunting illegally in the area.
On the date of this operation, it was only legal for hunters to
take antlered deer using archery equipment.
After placing his decoy, Scribner hid in the woods next to the
field with a pair of binoculars, and after five minutes McIntyre and
Hart arrived in a red Oldsmobile with Hart behind the wheel,
Scribner said.
Looking through his binoculars, Scribner said he saw a rifle poke
out from the passenger side of the car before hearing a single
gunshot. Scribner ran out of the woods and approached the vehicle on
the driver's side from behind and surprised Hart and McIntyre, who
were looking at the still-standing deer, Scribner said.
"I identified myself and both turned my way and the passenger
stated, 'That was stupid,'" Scribner wrote in his affidavit. "I saw
the driver try to conceal a can of beer on the floor and then next
to his right leg on the seat of the car."
Scribner said he asked McIntyre to unload his rifle and step out
of the car. Scribner later found a spent rifle casing in a baby's
car seat behind the passenger seat, he said.
Scribner said subsequent investigation revealed McIntyre had been
convicted of taking deer out of season in 1983.
Scribner said when he asked Hart to step out of the car he could
smell alcohol on Hart's breath, and when he asked Hart his name Hart
gave the name of his brother, Rodney Hart, and told Scribner his
birthday was Sept. 9, 1948.
Hart told Scribner he was borrowing his brother's car, which
actually belonged to him, and when Scribner ran the registration it
came back as belonging to Rodney A. Hart, Scribner said.
A breathalyzer test revealed that Hart had a blood alcohol
content of 0.1 — the legal limit in Vermont is 0.08 — and Scribner
offered to let Hart call someone to come and pick up the car so it
wouldn't be towed, Scribner said.
Hart said he would call his sister-in-law Ruth Hart to pick him
up, Scribner said. Ruth Hart arrived and drove the Oldsmobile home,
with Scribner following behind so he could bring her back and pick
up her own car, as well as Hart and McIntyre, Scribner said.
As the two were driving back Scribner said he asked Ruth Hart for
her husband's date of birth and she told him it was Sept. 9, 1947.
Scribner said he became convinced the man he knew as Ronald Hart was
actually Rodney Hart.
When Scribner and Ruth Hart returned to the scene, Scribner
confronted Rodney Hart about his false identity. Hart confessed he
was actually Rodney, not Ronald Hart and told Scribner he had lied
because he didn't want another DUI charge, Scribner said.
"I asked Rodney whose date of birth he had given me and he stated
that he had used his brother's," Scribner wrote. "I advised that he
had missed it by one year and he stated, 'I was close.'"
McIntyre was given a $400 fine for hunting out of season, with
Hart facing $742 in fines for hunting out of season and providing
false information.
Contact Josh O'Gorman at
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com.
