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A photograph published on the front page of The Intelligencer's Nov. 24 edition led West Virginia Division of Natural Resources officials to bring poaching charges against a Brooke County hunter.

The photo showed Raymond Allen Owens of Bethany sitting in the back of a sport utility vehicle with a 16-point trophy buck he claimed to have shot the morning of Nov. 23 - the first day of deer firearms season in West Virginia - on his property along W.Va. 88.

Owens said he checked the deer in at Chambers General Store in Bethany before taking it to The Highlands that afternoon to inquire about a contest at Cabela's, where the photo was taken. Employees running an outdoor game checking station in the store's parking lot said it was the largest buck they had seen to that point.

State DNR Sgt. Dave Shriner saw the photo in the newspaper and contacted Brooke County Conservation Officer Steve Himmelrick, according to a news release. Himmelrick knew of Owens and had received a spotlighting complaint in the Bethany area the night of Nov. 22.

Capt. Lou DellaMea of the state DNR's Law Enforcement Section said Owens admitted to killing the deer on another person's property without a license, though he did not admit to killing it the night before deer season began.

He was charged in Brooke County Magistrate Court with hunting without a license, and officials confiscated the buck from a local taxidermist.

DellaMea said the deer was suspicious because it was the first deer checked in at that location and had not been gutted yet - something that is usually done prior to having the deer tagged. He noted it can sometimes be difficult to catch illegal hunters, and the DNR relies heavily on complaints from residents to help enforce the laws.

"Most times people call us," DellaMea said. "If they don't want to be identified, we do everything possible that their name doesn't come up. We've had a lot of calls from people who get sick and tired."

DellaMea said if convicted, Owens would be forced to pay a fine of $20-$300, plus court costs and a $200 replacement fee to cover the assessed value of the deer. He noted all fine money from illegal hunting goes directly to the general school fund in Brooke County.

According to the DNR, about 280,000 licensed hunters will roam Mountain State forests this season, which runs through Saturday in all West Virginia counties except Logan, Mingo, McDowell and Wyoming. The season will provide an estimated $250 million boost to the state's economy.