Hunters bag expensive ticket, lots of attention, along with deer.

If
you were on the northbound 14 freeway Friday morning near Golden
Valley Road, you might have noticed several police
cars clustered around a few men in the brush.

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“We
came into contact with three hunters,” California Highway Patrol Sgt. Rick Miler
explained. “A mile in from that area is national forest and they were legally
hunting and had shot a deer. They decided that the 14 freeway would be a lot
closer to where they could get the deer out, so they decided to drag the deer
that way and have their vehicle come pick them up.”

The
problem started when calls came in from passers by who saw three men with guns
that appeared to be hiding in the bushes on the northbound 14, north of Placerita
Canyon and south of Golden
Valley.

While
the CHP took the first call, a request for backup attracted sheriffs units and
more CHP to backup what on first glance was a serious situation.

“After
we got everybody safe, we talked with the guys and they legally shot the deer.
But they illegally tagged it,” Miler said. “It wasn’t the smartest choice on
their part.”

State
Fish and Game officials cited the deer hunter holding the tag for not putting
it on the animal.

“He
had permission to shoot one deer, but he was probably saving the tag so he
could go get another one,” Miler added. “He was issued a very expensive
misdemeanor ticket.”

Miler
wasn’t sure how much the ticket would cost the hunter, but said the Fish and
Game used words like “steep,” “painful” and “not cost-effective” to describe
the fine.

After
the citation was issued, the hunters threw their deer in the back of a pickup
truck and left the scene.