BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — A Tennessee man will pay nearly $10,000 in fines, court costs and restitution after pleading guilty Feb. 2 in Martin Circuit Court to five hunting-related offenses in Martin County last fall.
Court records show Tanner Smelcer, 24, of Beas Lane Hollow Road in Sevierville, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to five counts of illegally taking wildlife, including elk, deer and wild turkey during a series of incidents from Oct. 24, 2024, to Nov. 18, 2024.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Smelcer must pay $5,000 in fines plus court costs through the Martin Circuit Court Clerk’s Office. He must also pay $4,804.27 in restitution to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife for wildlife replacement costs, including $1,788.91 for an elk and $3,015.36 for four deer, or $753.84 per deer.
The agreement gives Smelcer one year to pay all fines, costs and restitution.
Additionally, his hunting license will be suspended for three years.
The case stems from incidents investigated by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Officer James Dylan Fields, who filed a criminal complaint alleging 18 counts against Smelcer, who hunted with a juvenile.
In exchange for his guilty plea to the five charges, the court dismissed 13 counts involving the use of artificial light, discharging a firearm across a public roadway, hunting or trapping without a license, taking game with a firearm during bow season, entry on land to hunt without consent and bag limits on wildlife.
According to court records, the first incident occurred Oct. 24, 2024, when Smelcer and the juvenile unlawfully killed a 4-point buck on Mollett Road. Fields stated Smelcer did not have a valid hunting license at the time.
The following day, Oct. 25, Fields said Smelcer entered onto property owned by Czar Coal to hunt without consent.
The investigation continued into early November. On Nov. 7, 2024, Smelcer and the juvenile unlawfully killed three deer — two bucks and a doe — on the Coleman Strip Job in Martin County. Fields alleged Smelcer shot the doe from a public roadway, resulting in an additional firearms-related offense.
The complaint states that on Nov. 8, Smelcer and the juvenile unlawfully killed an elk using the aid of a spotlight. Fields alleged Smelcer did not have a hunting license or an elk tag and failed to report the kill through the state’s TeleCheck system.