OUTDOORS: Illegally-killed buck on display at Pyramid
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ The full head mount of a 24-point buck, killed illegally in Pyramid State Park last year, is now on display at the park's office.
The deer, which has 24 scoreable points and measures approximately 203-216 inches, was killed by a Tennessee man a few hours before he purchased the correct hunting tag from Wal-Mart in Du Quoin on Thursday, November 12, 2009.
It may have been a cell phone photo taken of the deceased buck just after the kill that eventually did in the perpetrator.
The police investigation began in Tennessee, where Steve Harmon, 46, of Dunlap, TN was initially cited for hunting without permission, with no orange, and no license.
The officer heard Mr. Harmon had killed a large deer in Illinois and felt that it was odd since he had no license to hunt in his home state of Tennessee.
This led to State CPO Headquarters contacting IDNR in Springfield for further investigation of the matter.
After checking to see if Harmon had an Illinois license, it was found he had purchased a doe tag on Monday, November 9, 2009. On Thursday, November 12, 2009, at approximately 1:30 p.m. an over-the-counter buck tag was purchased from Wal-Mart in Du Quoin.
The deer was later checked in at approximately 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. that same evening.
Phone records were subpoenaed, and the date and time on a cell phone photo taken of the deer just after it was killed showed 08:31 a.m. Harmon purchased the tag from Du Quoin Walmart approximately six hours later.
Harmon claimed all tags and licenses and claimed he hunted at Pyramid every year. A non-residential over-the-counter buck tag is $400 and a non-residential over-the-counter doe tag is $15.
Initially, authorities were uncertain how to charge Harmon until his acts were found in violation of the Lacy Act, which involves illegally taking species across state lines.
In Illinois, Harmon was charged with unlawful take of white tail deer without permit and was fined $750.00 and forfeiture of deer.
Harmon does retain hunting privileges in Illinois with 9 points against his license. It takes 13 points to revoke a license. However, point penalties only last 3 years before being cleared.
Harmon plead guilty to hunting without permission in Tennessee and received a $10.00 plus court costs fine and retained his hunting priveleges.
The investigation began Thanksgiving weekend 2009 and concluded by the third week in December 2009.
Authorities state the case went quickly due to the 'Point of Sale' system, which allows for rapid checks on all hunting records. Tennessee has a similar system and officials in both states feel like technology was a key component in solving the investigation.
Officials also stated the aid of cell phones and social networking sites are becoming more popular these days to help solve investigations such as this one.
On Monday morning, local individuals were already arriving at the Pyramid State Park office to catch a glimpse of the deer during the first hour of unveiling.
Taxidermist Jarrod Albers donated time and materials to mount the animal. Albers said it took around 12 hours to complete the process by the time it was done with.
The public is invited to come view the deer during normal business hours.
Shane Malawy of Outdoor News also contributed to this story.