What a shame…
According to WJHL, a high-ranking field officer at Holston Army Ammunition Plant (HSAAP) is looking at a plethora of charges, after the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency discovered that he was illegally shooting and killing deer on the plant’s land.
The culprit is Lt. Col. Randolph Carpenter, a commander at HSAAP, who has been accused of illegally bagging an 11-point buck from the passenger seat of a government pickup truck, driven by his colleague Guy Hurd.
According to an Affidavit filed in Hawkins County General Sessions Court in June, camera footage captured Carpenter in the act on December 19th 2021, as he was accompanied by Hurd, and another colleague James Duff.
Although Hurd was driving the white pickup, Duff is allegedly the one who handed over the crossbow to Carpenter, who fired two shots at the 11-pointer from inside the truck. Duff then helped drag the carcass into the truck.
The court record says:
“Mr. Carpenter was not wearing any blaze orange, which is required by law during an open rifle season for big game.”
Carpenter has been charged by the TWRA on counts of hunting from a motor vehicle, illegal possession of big game, and blaze orange violations.
Duff faces charges on hunting from a motor vehicle, and blaze orange violations.
However, Hurd is the one who is in the deepest pit, as he not only faces charges from the December 19th incident, but a number of other hunting violations that occurred in November that spanned to Kentucky.
Court records show that on November 12th, Hurd used a crossbow to kill and harvest a six-point buck in Kentucky, but checked it out as a harvest in Tennessee. He did this all without a Kentucky hunting license.
Court documents state:
“Mr. Hurd then transported the deer back into the state of Tennessee to process and clean it.”
On December 17th, Hurd also reportedly harvested a 10-pointer inside the HSAAP property, and had the deer checked out three days later on December 20th.
Hurd faces charges on two counts of illegal tagging of big game; possession of wildlife illegally acquired, taken or transported from the state or country of origin; hunting from a motor vehicle and blaze orange violations.
The outlet reached out to the Joint Munitions Commands (JMC), and a spokesperson said they are aware of the situation, but does not plan to take disciplinary action.
And when they’re not illegally hunting deer, here’s what they’re doing at HSAAP.
