A hunter who wounded two deer on private property then tracked them into the Goosepond area where he shot and killed them, then field dressed them without having the required tags, is being charged with two misdemeanor counts of failure to properly tag a whitetail deer.

Timothy W. Ennis, 49, of Westphalia, received citations and court dates issued by Indiana Conservation Officer Gregory Swanson after Swanson found Ennis on a levee in the Goosepond Fish and Wildlife Area, with two field-dressed deer next to him, on Saturday, November 17, around 4:30 p.m.

Swanson had received an earlier call reporting that Ennis was hunting in Goosepond but may not have gone through the draw.

When Swanson located Ennis with the two deer, Ennis allegedly said he’d shot them on private property but had tracked them onto Goosepond.

Ennis did have a valid deer license, but he had not gone through the draw, and neither of the deer had tags on them.

Swanson said he explained that a hunter is required to fill out a tag immediately upon kill, prior to field dressing them or moving them from where they died.

When Swanson asked Ennis how long he had been hunting deer, Ennis said “for years.”

When Swanson asked Ennis again about where he shot the deer, Ennis allegedly admitted he did shoot the deer on Goosepond but he felt like he was just finishing them off because he had wounded them on private property.

Swanson took photographs of the firearm and the deer, and handed out the citations.

Ennis was first scheduled to appear in court on December 20 but that date has been re-set for February.