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Mass. brothers accused of illegally hunting fox, shooting deer from pickup truck
The brothers were charged with hunting from a vehicle, killing a deer with a rifle, and hunting a fox out of season, among other charges.
Two brothers were arrested in Colrain, just north of Springfield, over the weekend for allegedly poaching a deer and fox and several other hunting violations, authorities said Tuesday.
Ira Doull, 46, of Worthington, and Seth Doull, 51, of Colrain, are charged with hunting from a vehicle, carrying a loaded shotgun or rifle in a vehicle, hunting a deer with a rifle, discharging a firearm near a highway, improper storage of a firearm, hunting at night, and hunting a fox out of season.
In a release from State Police, authorities said they are also investigating the possibility of past poaching incidents from the men. State Police had received complaints about poaching by a person or people in a gray pickup truck in the area of Colrain for the last two years, but were never able to identify a suspect.
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The Doull brothers were arrested after troopers received a report after 6 p.m. Saturday about a deer being shot and killed by someone inside a gray Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, in front of a home on Shelburne Line Road. The deer had been shot three times.
When troopers conducted a stop of the truck, the two brothers were inside with “several unsecured firearms” — specifically, a loaded rifle and handgun, another rifle, two shotguns, four muzzleloader firearms, and four thermal firearm scopes for seeing at night.
State Police also found a dead fox in the truck, “with gunshot wounds to its body and apparent blunt trauma to its head.”
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An arraignment for both brothers was held Monday, in which the Doulls pleaded not guilty and were released on personal recognizance. One of the pretrial release orders given in the Greenfield District Court was that the brothers must refrain from possessing any firearms or weapons.
State Police also said the Doull brothers face a mandatory revocation of their Firearm Identification Card, generally necessary in Massachusetts to own a gun. Their hunting rights in nearly all 50 states could also be stripped away.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22.
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