In deer DNA case, 3 men plead guilty

Oct 18, 2006 — The Pennsylvania Game Commission said Tuesday the three men accused of illegally shooting deer in November 2005, and charged months later after DNA testing was performed, pleaded guilty and agreed to pay thousands in fines.

Robert O. Fewster, 29, of Fawn Grove; James L. Fewster Sr., 49, of Baltimore; and Ronald C. Wade, 55, of Halethorpe, Md. were charged in September.

The three pleaded guilty during several hearings held between Oct. 2 and Oct. 11, District Justice Nancy Edie's office confirmed this morning.

James Fewster said during a previous interview that the men were set up, but he declined further comment.

The case was reportedly the first time the southeastern York County game warden used DNA evidence in a case. The testing confirmed exactly how many deer the defendants had killed, said Guy Hansen, the wildlife conservation officer who handled the case.

Determining the exact number of deer resulted in thousands of dollars in additional fines, which outweighed the cost of the testing.

According to the game commission, the three men were found with guns, in hunting clothing and literally red-handed - with blood on their hands - a week before the scheduled start of the 2005 firearm deer season.

Hansen said officers heard shots and went to the Fewster property in Peach Bottom Township, finding a freshly killed deer. A tracking dog followed a trail from the woods to the Fewsters' home and found a freezer full of meat.

The amount was more than one deer could provide, Hansen said, but because the flesh had been processed, it was impossible to tell how many deer were in the freezer.

Hansen originally guessed between four and seven deer; the DNA results showed the number was seven, adding thousands of dollars in fines to the amount the men had to pay.

James Fewster pleaded guilty to and paid fines this week totally $5,300 for illegally possessing seven deer, carrying a loaded firearm on a moving vehicle and making false statements to law enforcement.

Robert Fewster pleaded guilty to and paid fines totally $5,100 for illegally possessing seven deer and carrying a loaded firearm on a moving vehicle. He and his father will also split the approximately $500 cost of the DNA testing.

Hansen said he believes Wade was not involved with killing multiple deer, so he did not share in the cost of the DNA testing on the frozen meat.

Wade pleaded guilty to and paid fines totaling $900 for illegally possessing one deer - killed shortly before game commission officers searched the Fewster property - one count of carrying a loaded firearm on a moving vehicle and one count of making false statements to law enforcement.