A Bloomfield man accused of illegally taking a white-tailed deer in Greene County during the 2021 hunting season is facing a misdemeanor charge.

Dylan Christopher Stahl, 23, Bloomfield, is being summoned to appear in Greene Superior Court in June for an initial hearing on a charge of illegal taking of a wild animal – deer or wild turkey, a Class B misdemeanor, as a result of an investigation by Indiana Conservation Officer Cole Hollingsworth.

ICO Hollingsworth received an anonymous tip that Stahl had taken three white-tailed deer during the 2021 deer season that he checked in under the landowner exemption even though he did not own property that met the requirements for the landowner exemption.

Officer Hollingsworth confirmed that Stahl reported taking the first deer on November 25 at 5:10 PM on private property in Greene County. Stahl also reported taking two more deer on November 26, one at 4:30 PM and one at 4:45 PM, on private property in Daviess County. In all three cases, Stahl claimed landowner exemption and he did not purchase any resident deer licenses for the 2021 season. Officer Hollingsworth's research revealed no property listed with Stahl as the landowner.

When Officer Hollingsworth talked to him, Stahl confirmed that he did not own any property and said that he had killed the deer on the property of family members. Stahl allegedly said he thought he could claim landowner exemption on property owned by his family members. The deer harvested in Greene County was on property owned by Stahl's grandfather. The deer harvested in Daviess County was on property owned by Stahl's grandmother.

In his report, Officer Hollingsworth noted that Stahl said he had been previously charged with ‘jacklighting’ in a 2018 case in Greene County, also that Stahl was on probation at the time these incidents occurred.

In Greene County, a criminal case was filed against Stahl earlier this week and a summons has been issued ordering him to appear in court in late June for an initial hearing on the charge of illegal taking of a white-tailed deer, a Class B misdemeanor, and that Stahl pay the State of Indiana a $500 restitution fee for the antlerless white-tailed deer that was illegally harvested.