A Thief River Falls man has been ordered to pay $360 in fines and court costs after being convicted of taking an illegal deer in Pennington County.
Randy Bunker, 45, also was sentenced to 10 days in jail, which was stayed for a year as long as he commits no same or similar offenses.
Bunker initially was charged in April after firefighters responding a wildfire reported seeing "fairly fresh" whitetail deer heads with antlers hanging from a fence in the yard of a residence in Smiley township. According to court records, one of the heads didn't have a visible transportation or possession tag.
Jeremy Woinarowicz, a conservation officer for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, responded to the report and cited Bunker for having a buck deer over the limit.
Bunker pleaded not guilty May 10 but later changed his plea to guilty as part of a plea agreement. The charge is a misdemeanor.
