JACKSON — Three young men stepped to a lectern and asked the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks commission for their licenses to be reinstated. All three were caught while illegally hunting deer at night. 

The offense is commonly referred to as spotlighting or headlight deer. It is a Class 1 Offense meaning fines are levied, guns confiscated and all hunting or fishing privileges are revoked. A majority of license reinstatement requests are usually related to illegally hunting deer at night or from the roadway. 

Samuel Jenkins and Earnest Porche were the first gentlemen to step up to the lectern. Col. Jerry Carter, Chief of Law Enforcement, introduced their case from the Game Warden’s report. Porche and Jenkins hunting violation occurred on January 12, 2023 in Claiborne County. 

“In the incident the officer witnessed a vehicle riding slowly and suspected illegal activity. He initiated a stop and suspected they had been using night vision,” Carter said. 

Jenkins did the talking as he told their side of the story. He said they were headed to a friend’s deer camp in Port Gibson and drove down Rodney Road. It was there where they saw a lot of deer. 

“It sparked our interest. We made a bad decision,” Jenkins said. “We used a thermal monocular to look at the deer. We were watching and might have shot one if we got the opportunity.” 

Jenkins said the game warden confiscated their crossbow. They had to pay their fines and lost their licenses and privileges for a year. He told the commission again they had poor judgement that night. 

Over the past year, Jenkins said they appreciated the privilege of being able to hunt and fish. 

“We won’t ever do anything to jeopardize it again,” he concluded. 

Commissioners voted unanimously to reinstate their license and thanked them for being honest. 

Next up was Jacob Eaton. He was caught in Alcorn County spotlighting and killing a deer. Carter told the commission an officer with the Mississippi Highway Patrol witnessed them shining a field and contacted a Game Warden. 

“Eaton was stopped and the officer initiated an investigation and was able to conclude a deer had been killed,” Carter said. 

Eaton stepped up to the microphone to tell his side of the story. It was around 10 p.m. that night, there was no one else at the intersection. Peer pressure played a factor in his poor decision. 

“I was riding with my buddies and we pulled up to an intersection and saw some deer. One of my buddies bet me I wouldn’t shoot the deer,” Eaton said. “I made the irresponsible decision to shoot the deer and was pulled over. I lost my license and they confiscated the gun.” 

Commissioners voted to reinstate his license. 

Carter followed up by giving a report on law enforcement citations for July. In total, 512 citations were issued with 81 citations issued for no resident license, 69 for Personal flotation device violations, 49 for no boat registration, 24 for no non-resident license and 21 for trespassing.