- JACKSON, Ky. (AP) - Randolph
Scott Stidham was so proud of shooting an enormous deer he drove it around
town in the back of his pickup to show it off to friends.
-
- They broke the bad news: He had actually bagged one of
1,300 protected elk that wildlife officials have been trying to restore
to the state's Appalachian mountains.
-
- Now Stidham, 38, faces more than $8,000 in fines and
up to a year in jail.
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- "Anyone who mistakenly shoots an elk is an idiot,"
said Roy Grimes, deputy state fish and wildlife commissioner. "If
a person cannot tell the difference between an elk and a deer, they should
get rid of their firearms."
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- Elk can weigh as much as 800 pounds; the antlers alone
can weigh 50 pounds and extend 6 feet. Deer are about a quarter of the
size.
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- "It's like comparing a tractor-trailer to a pickup
truck," said conservation officer Jamon Halvaksz.
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- Stidham pleaded innocent this week to charges of possessing
an elk. He and his attorney had no comment.
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- Prosecutor Hershel Branson said Stidham turned himself
in as soon as he realized the error. "Obviously, he's guilty of it,
but you have to look at intent," Branson said.
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