Florida Man Charged After 23-Point Buck Illegally Shot

A hunter accused of bagging a potentially record-breaking buck is facing multiple charges in Florida, with the local Sheriff saying he violated not only the law, but also the spirit of a true huntsman.

The 23-point buck (a male deer with 23 points on its antlers) was found dead on state land, shot by a poacher in the middle of the night after being startled with a flashlight, according to Martin County Sheriff’s office.

54-year old Mario Palacio, from Miami, was charged with Trespass on a Construction Site, and Trespass by Lethal Projectile, according to an Oct. 12 statement from Martin County Sheriff. Both are felony charges.

The white-tail deer herd is half-tame, say local deputies, who had taken a picture with the very same animal just the night before.

Sergeant Kevin Kryzda with the 23-point buck that was found dead the following night in Martin County, Florida. (Martin County Sheriff)

“This was not hunting, this was purely and simply the killing of an animal for a trophy,” said Sheriff William Snyder, WPTV reported.

“First of all, we don’t know he has a hunting license, second of all he can’t hunt at night with a spotlight and third of all you can’t trespass to hunt.” 

‘They Almost Appear as Pets’

He is likely to face additional state charges.

Many of the deputies are avid sportsmen and keep close tabs on the local whitetail deer herd, according to the Sheriff’s office.

Sargeant Kevin Kryzda told TC Palm: “I don’t want to use the term pets, but (the deer) almost appear as pets because of their lack of fear because they know they can’t be hunted at the location they’re at,” he said.

The carcass of the 23-point buck that was found dead in Martin County, Florida, posted to Facebook on Oct. 12, 2018 (Martin County Sheriff)

“For anybody who has any care for white-tailed (deer) hunting or any passion for it, the idea here is to honor the deer as much as we can and it’s disgusting that somebody would go out there and take a deer this way.”

Kryda had noticed a dark truck parked in a wooded area near a construction site off of Citrus Boulevard.

When he realized the driver (Palacio) was using a spotlight to illuminate a deer, he approached the truck, which then sped off.

A High Caliber Rifle

Another deputy pulled Palacio’s truck over a short while later as he tried to leave the area. In the meantime, a large deer carcass was spotted at the location Palacio had been seen with his flashlight.

“Deputies determined that the buck was recently shot by what appeared to be a high-caliber rifle,” according to the statement.

Deputies searched the truck. They found a bow, arrows, spotlight, and a single spent shell casing from a .30-06 caliber rifle, but no rifle.

A short while later they found a .30-06 rifle in the area where Palacio had first been spotted.

“This is an unusually large deer,” said Snyder. “As a matter of fact, when somebody texted me the picture of the deer, at first I thought they were playing a joke because I didn’t think there were deer that size in Florida.”

Florida’s whitetail deer population was estimated at around 700,000 in 2015.