ROCKLAND —  A Washington man has been charged by the Maine Warden Service with illegally hunting a deer during the night and allegedly letting the deer suffer until the following morning.

Ronald Mole, 57, is charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals, night hunting, illegally baiting deer, and discharging a firearm near a dwelling.

According to the court document filed in Knox County Unified Court by Maine Game Warden Joey Lefebvre, of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the offenses allegedly occurred on Nov. 6 and 7 on the Old Union Road in Washington. The hunting occurred on Nov. 6 around 8 p.m. after sunset which was 4:20 p.m. on that day.

The charge of felony aggravated cruelty alleges that “Mole acted in a manner that manifested a depraved indifference to animal life or suffering, did intentionally, knowingly or recklessly cause extreme physical pain to an animal, cause the death of an animal, or physically torture an animal,” according to the court document.  

Aggravated cruelty to animals is a class C felony which carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. Night hunting is a class D misdemeanor which carries a maximum jail sentence of 364 days and a $2,000 fine. Both baiting deer and discharging a firearm too close to a dwelling are class E crimes, with maximum jail time of six months and a fine not to exceed $1,000. With some of those charges, if convicted, a person could face additional penalties to include loss of hunting privileges and/or loss of firearm(s), according to Cpl. John MacDonald, spokesperson for the Maine Warden Service.

State laws prohibit the discharging of a firearm with 100 yards of a residential dwelling without the permission of the owner. Hunting is also prohibited from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise the following day.

Attorney Christopher MacLean, of Camden, is representing Mole. He entered a plea of not guilty to all of the charges in the complaint. Based on the filing, both MacLean and Mole did not attend the arraignment on March 20 in Knox County Unified Court.

Mole’s next court date is scheduled for April 10.

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com