Two Virginia men pleaded guilty to unlawfully hunting and killing an eight-point buck and two red foxes in a District of Columbia park behind the police impoundment lot.
Derek B. Vereen, 46, of Alexandria, and Steven M. Kowalik, 47, of Leesburg, were captured by U.S. Park Police last Thanksgiving morning after authorities said they found the duo crouched over a large-antlered whitetail deer in a meadow known as U.S. Reservation Number 421, on the border of Shepherd Parkway. The park is known commonly as the old D.C. Tree Nursery.
A security officer from the Blue Plains Impoundment Lot informed park police that two men wearing camouflaged clothing and carrying hunting weapons had entered the park. Officers found a black Toyota pickup truck, registered to Vereen, hidden in a restricted area, authorities said.
Officers canvassing the park by helicopterspotted the downed deer and swooped down to the meadow, where Vereen and Kowalik were placed under arrest. The deer had been field dressed and gutted, police said.
The men were carrying modern compound bows with attachable quivers containing razor-tipped arrows that are capable of going through the bodies of two or more people, prosecutors said. The officers also recovered two portable hunting stands attached to trees that belonged to Vereen and Kowalik, and a small camouflaged bag containing a canister of simulated deer scent and a “deer call,” which is used to bring other deer into the area.
Police also found two dead red foxes, both of which had been shot with arrows and appeared to have been dead for at least 36 hours.
Vereen and Kowalik pleaded to two counts of unlawfully taking wildlife. They have agreed to pay fines of $750 and $1,000, give up their hunting equipment and perform 50 hours of community service.
