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Maryland Natural Resources Police Charge Two For Hunting Deer At Night
DUBLIN — Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) charged a father and son with hunting violations last night off of Robinson Mill Road in Harford County.NRP officers responded to a complaint of shots fired in the area of Robinson Mill Road. The complainant reported that the rounds almost struck his house. NRP officers arrived and observed a pickup truck shining the headlights across a field. Upon stopping the truck, officers found two rifles, a hand-held spotlight and two field dressed deer in the truck.
Joseph A. Novopny, 64, and David V. Novopny, 36, both of Bel Air were issued citations for casting the rays of an artificial light upon the fields and woodlands with a weapon in possession, hunting at nighttime, hunting deer with prohibited firearm (use of rifle in a shotgun county) and hunting deer during closed season. In addition David Novopny was issued a citation for failure to comply with a lawful police order.
Two rifles, two hunting knives, a spotlight, and hunting clothing were seized as evidence. The hunting charges have a maximum fine of $1,500 and or 6 months imprisonment for first time offenders. In addition, if found guilty, a person may lose the privilege to hunt in the state for a period of 2 to 5 years and all evidence seized can be forfeited to the state.
The Maryland Natural Resources Police want to remind people that hunting at night is not only illegal, but also unsafe. In addition, NRP reminder hunters to always:
The Maryland Natural Resources Police encourage citizens to call and report illegal hunting activity at 1-800-628-9944.
- Identify your target
- Be aware of what is beyond your target
- Treat every gun as if it were loaded
- Never point a gun at anything you don’t want to shoot
- Unload guns when not in use
The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) is an enforcement arm of the Department of Natural Resources. With an authorized strength of 214 officers and a dedicated staff of civilian and volunteer personnel, the Natural Resources Police provide a variety of services in addition to conservation and boating law enforcement duties throughout the State of Maryland. These services include search and rescue, emergency medical services, education, information and communications services on a round the clock basis. NRP is the only police force aside from the Maryland State Police that has statewide jurisdiction.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 446,000 acres of public lands and 17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 11 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov