December 14, 2011
By Dave Henderson, TheIthacaJournal.com
We're constantly hearing about a sports star or Hollywood celebrity
causing a stir with the idiotic misuse of social media. Apparently the
vanity involved in stupid postings is not limited to celebrities.
Last month, local Environmental Conservation Officer Osman J.
Eisenberg received a phone call from a concerned hunter that a certain
individual had posted on his Facebook page, "Three Long Beards, 1 shot
Damn I'm good."
Eisenberg investigated and was able to find out some of the Facebook
poster's friends, and recognized a name. A subsequent interview with
that person (who admitted to being with the crack shot at the time of
the incident) revealed another hunter's name and the officer was able to
secure written statements from both.
As expected, the one-shot-three-birds story was somewhat inaccurate.
The witnesses said that a man whom they identified shot the birds from
the driver's side window of his car while still in the roadway. In fact,
it's alleged that the hunter had not even come to a complete stop before
discharging his shotgun.
ECO Eisenberg contacted the hunter, who initially denied shooting any
turkeys. But when confronted by information that had been given by his
colleagues, he admitted his actions.
The hunter was issued tickets for possessing a loaded firearm in a
motor vehicle, discharging a firearm from a public highway, taking over
the limit of turkeys, failing to tag turkeys, failing to report turkeys,
taking wildlife with the aid of a motor vehicle, and taking wild life
from a public highway. The case is pending in the Town of Danby Justice
Court.
Locals charged in N.H.
Elsewhere on the local docket is an incident in which local ECO Jim
Milewski, Jr. assisted the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department in an
illegal moose case involving two Tompkins County residents.
A bull moose was illegally taken on a cow-only permit around Oct. 16,
allegedly by the two New Yorkers. The hunters had been questioned in New
Hampshire but "were not forthcoming" according to the incident report.
When New Hampshire authorities asked for help, Milewski and fellow
ECO Omar Eisenberg interviewed the two subjects separately at their
residences at the same time.
One suspect admitted to shooting the bull as he failed to see the six
inch spike. Since he only had a cow permit, he panicked and left the
scene.
A statement was obtained from the other hunter, corroborating the
details.
Had the suspect reported the mistake it would have cost $248. Now he
faces a fine of $2,000 in New Hampshire.
