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Crime

Mich. Mayor Called Bow Hunters ‘Predators’ for Killing Deer, Wants Judge to ‘Inflict the Maximum Fine’ and Jail Time

Dec. 27, 2012 5:52pm Liz Klimas

Two Michigan Men Charged With Animal Cruelty for Illegally Killing Deer With Arrow

(Image: Shutterstock.com)

Two men who allegedly killed a deer in the city of Warren, Mich., with a bow and arrow are coming under fire from the mayor who hopes to see them put behind bars.

The Detroit Free Press reported Myles Ehret, 19, and William Francis, 27, have been charged with animal cruelty, a felony with a maximum sentence of four years in prison. In Warren hunting is illegal.

Mayor Jim Fouts said in a statement obtained by the Free Press he hopes authorities “inflict the maximum fine, and when these predators are on trial, I will be sitting in the courtroom to be certain they pay for their crimes” and he noted probation was “not [a] satisfactory” option.

“I consider deer in our city a domesticated animal because their tameness and the joy they bring to observers, especially children,” Fouts said in the statement.

As for the situation surrounding the slain deer, police said witnesses reported seeing the men loading a deer into a U-Haul on December 21. Providing license plate information to the authorities, the police located where the suspects’ car was located at the rental facility and saw inside it hunting items like a compound bow, pop-up blind and loose corn, according to the Free Press. The police impounded the car and waited for the suspects to turn up.

When the men didn’t see their car at the U-Haul, they left but police stopped them in the truck and noted they were wearing hunting gear, had blood on their hands and saw blood in the back of the truck.

The local CBS Local in Detroit reported that authorities later found a five-point buck at Francis’ residence.

According to the Free Press, police said they believe the men knew hunting in that area was illegal, which is why they didn’t verify and tag the dear. Francis did have the proper hunting license.

The men are currently free on $10,000 bond.

Relate:

Featured image via Shutterstock.com.

(H/T: MLive.com)

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Comments (199)

EdtheK
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:54pm
Uh, Glenda, I think you got your prepositional phrases crosses up, you really don’t want to go hunting for Ted, you want to go hunting WITH him. I doubt you are any near well armed enought to deal with him.

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TEOTWASWKI
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:53pm
I don’t think you would like the outcome, I would put my money on Ted.

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KLT
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:53pm
Many cities have legal bow hunting within city limits due to the damage to property they cause, however these are “special hunts”. Taking any deer without proper licenses is in itself a very serious violation. These guys will pay dearly for poaching, but to call them domesticated is silly beyond belief.

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MDECKER
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:51pm
Nugent would have you on a spit before you were able to nock one.

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progressiveslayer
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:51pm
Aren’t you the aggressive one,what happened did you get an injection of testosterone today? Now you want to kill Ted Nugent,yes it’s illegal to hunt a human being you fool.

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Polarized America
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:49pm
.
i’m trying to remember your original name ..wasn’t wango or pants..but it started with an ” S”
and you once used Jeb Bush daughters pic as your avatar ..”".anyone else remember ?”"

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HOOT_OWL
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:46pm
Never kill and eat one of the Kings deer.

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- BODYBAG
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 7:33pm
  My very first thoughts also. You got that EXACTLY right.
  
  “Mayor Jim Fouts said in a statement obtained by the Free Press he hopes authorities “inflict the maximum fine, and when these predators are on trial, I will be sitting in the courtroom to be certain they pay for their crimes” and he noted probation was “not [a] satisfactory” option.”
  http://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/742/a_foutsian_bargain_freedom_of_information_and_the_city_of_warren
  
  I think that these two “predators” should now focus their attention and hunt down Mayor Jim Fouts with razor tips and “inflict the maximum amount of damage” and as he’s laying there bleeding out all 200 holes in his carcass he can remember that probation “was not a satisfactory option”.
  
  Report this comment
- Walkabout
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 7:43pm
  BODYBAG
  
  You should reconsider you last paragraph.
  
  Report this comment
- BODYBAG
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 7:44pm
  Sorry, but in my world politicians have become ENTIRELY TOO ARROGANT.
  They’re public servants — meaning they work for us — not the other way around.
  
  This mayor’s statements sound like something Louis IV would say if a peasant
  shot a rabbit within the kingdom.
  
  Report this comment
proliance
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:41pm
Poachers. Throw the book at them.

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- AZfreeman
  Posted on December 28, 2012 at 10:20am
  They may be guilty, but throw the book??? The book?…..ouch, that would hurt.
  
  What about the ‘snitch”? …. “witnesses reported seeing the men loading a deer into a U-Haul on December 21. Providing license plate information to the authorities…”, Should anything be done about them, or are we all “do-goodbees” now? Have we become a nation who turn each other in because some have not colored within the lines with their crayons? How will those perfect people feel while those two young men sit in jail for four years? Will they be proud of themselves for teaching them a lesson? “Let he among you without sin cast the first stone”. …rf
  
  “Half the harm that is done in this world Is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves”. *T. S. Eliot
  
  Report this comment
strats
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:41pm
Warren, Michigan has a bit of a larger problem with gun violence than with bow hunters hunting.
These guys probably saved the insurance companies thousands.
Hey mayor! Will the fine cost more than incarceration?

Fool.

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- Conservative2
  Posted on December 28, 2012 at 12:10am
  Did any one realize, Warren , MI is a suburb of Detroit?
  You ask why this Mayor is such an idiot?
  
  Progressive Democrat at it’s bests
  
  Report this comment
WTFHappenedToTheUSA
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:40pm
First, the article states hunting is illegal in Warren, MI.

Then the last paragraph states Francis did have the proper hunting license.

Call me crazy, but how did Francis have a hunting license if hunting is illegal in Warren, MI?

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- EdtheK
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:51pm
  Right now in Michigan it is still bow hunting season in the outstate areas. In Warren, however it is never hunting season, since Warren is rather urbanized. What the article did not say, but the local paper did was that these two half brother rocket scientists from downriver, tried to claim that they shot the deer in the countryside, and not in some city park. Rather than drive out into the woods, and sit and wait in the deer blind for their deer, they decided to feed the deer in the park, and then shoot them at the feed pile.
  
  Report this comment
Beachmastermax
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:32pm
Yea, Alpha Predators.

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8YRSOFHELL
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:24pm
Tasty backstraps MMM MMM…..They should be fined…. But for crying out loud!!!! It’s an animal! Almost sounds like agenda 21….Equal protection for the beasts……

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- LBJDIDIT1963
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:37pm
  Where’s the call to ban Crossbows LOL!
  
  Report this comment
- RioSam
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:46pm
  @LBJDIDIT1963: It was a compound bow, not a crossbow..
  
  Report this comment
geomann
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:23pm
They should get fines consistent with hunting in an illegal area, if that is what they did.

If the charges will be based on the hunters going after domesticated animals, I would like to know who owned them, and if they have a pet license, or actual farm where they raised these critters.

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- LBJDIDIT1963
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:31pm
  Very common sense GEOMAN good comment! Why does this mayor have so much time on his hands to get involved? Do people know what kind of economical turmoil the State and Cities are in? Maybe these guys are trying to feed their families you stupid politician!
  
  Report this comment
- Gregb
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:39pm
  sounds like it must be illegal to hunt anything in that county. They must be over run with all kinds of domesticated animals.
  Everything the mayor said about deer can also be said about cows, pigs, chickens, sheep….
  
  Report this comment
- chips1
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 7:36pm
  GEOMANN:
  You’ve never been attacked by a chicken before? They are dangerous and I always carry my bow just in case. Self defense.
  
  Report this comment
- Twobyfour
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 10:03pm
  chips1, especially the headless ones running which ever way, the can give you a heart attack.
  Seriously, roosters can be pretty nasty.
  
  Report this comment
- BlueStrat
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 11:56pm
  I live in MI, about 1-1/2 hour’s drive away from Warren. It’s a miserable pit on the outskirts of Detroit, which should explain a lot. You know, Detroit…where the deer, the packs of wild dogs, and bears roam free? Yeah, *that* Detroit. Not the industrial wonder of the world that won two world-wars, no. Today’s Detroit, the one that has large areas that look like bombed/shelled-out German and Russian cities in late-WW2.
  
  This mayor is simply trying anything he possibly can to distract from the mess he’s mayor of. Lansing has already placed many Michigan cities and towns like Benton Harbor under an emergency manager, as their governments are broke and corrupt to the core. It’s likely this mayor feels he’s on the short-list for being replaced by such an emergency manager as well.
  
  Report this comment
- WATER-THE-TREE
  Posted on December 28, 2012 at 3:23am
  They are going for the animal cruelty angle. They court will have to prove cruelty was committed. I think they will fail at this. Yes you are right charge them with hunting in a illegal area, but that is all. The mayor would be happy if they were drawn and quartered.
  
  Report this comment
oudbob
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:21pm
Going 60 in a 55 is breaking the law too. Apparently these guys wanted the meat. They didn’t shoot a trophy, and they took it to prepare it for consumption. Give them a fine and drop it. Impeach the mayor for messing in a prosecution.

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- pissantno.10
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 7:53pm
  no jobs there they need food and were white no food stamps how dare they think they should have food. food is only for obama supporters.
  
  Report this comment
progressiveslayer
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:20pm
Aww now Mr.Mayor don’t get your panties all up in a bunch,you make it sound like these two yahoos are Charles Manson and Ted Bundy. Did they break the law? Probably but that’s what courts are for to determine if the state has proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt.I do thank you though for your ignorant remarks because their lawyer will be able to make hay with it,maybe get them off.

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SDAJumpmaster
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:18pm
First, these guys should NOT be hunting where it is illegal.

That said, when did we start puting the rights of animals ahead of human beings? Oh wait – spotted owls, snails, desert tortoises, got it. This is all Agenda 21 crap worming its way in.

And furthermore, the previous statement that their right to an impartial jury and fair trial has been blown by the mayor.

Sick world we live in.

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- docvet
  Posted on December 28, 2012 at 3:19pm
  Oh, c’mon. They hunted in a no hunting area. Nothing more to it than that.
  
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mrunner
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:17pm
I live in a Detroit suburb, but haven’t been in Warren for quite a while. Seemed to me it is not a sissy town. I am guessing if this gets publicity around that city- he will have a whole lotta citizens not vote for him again. A lot of hunters in the area. Not saying that what they did was right, or that hunters would support them, but if they view the mayor as a peta-puking, tree hugging liberal it may spell the end of his mayoral career. Wanting them prosecuted- yep makes sense. Making it a personal vendetta- um… not so much.

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- RioSam
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 8:51pm
  I grew up, went to school etc in Warren, Mi. Yeah..lots of hunters there..well, there used to be anyway.. These guys will get plenty of punishment for a poaching violation..no need to get so dam girlish about it..lol Hopefully, Warrenites will see that there mayor is girly man and vote him out next time around!
  
  Report this comment
- sta
  Posted on December 28, 2012 at 8:43am
  I’m north of Warren. Imagine the accident one of those “domesticated” deer could cause on nine lane, Van **** Avenue. This mayor just wants to be king.
  
  Report this comment
Too_Far_Gone
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:15pm
Call PETA , I hear they have great recipes .. People.Eating.Tasty.Animals !!

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SaturdaysWarrior76
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:12pm
hi RJJ: I agree with you, sure they broke the law but this mayor just tainted their chances for any kind of fair trial or hearing.

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RaydocX
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:08pm
domesticated animals that can and have injured people.
USG has a group that goes into big cities and used night vision gear and suppression to take out deer when the in city population becomes too great.

while it was stupid to harvest a deer in the city, unless there are laws against it, the application of ‘animal cruelty’ is a ridiculous liberal tantrum… clearly by his actions, this mayor believes that all hunters are inflicting animal cruelty… i wonde what he feels about the slaughter houses.

We hav gotten so far away from the land that we take for granted we are omnivores, and to get meat, someone has to kill something.

This mayor i am sure has bigger issues… unemployment, crime, housing, education. He needs to put on his big boy pants and stop acting like it is the first time he has seen Bambi.

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Tri-ox
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:03pm
Jim Fouts sounds like a complete lunatic. Of course these men should be held accountable if they broke the law, but Good Lord – wild deer are not “domesticated animal(s)”, and the reason that hunting is illegal in Warren, Mich. (and in most cities) is for public safety, not because the wildlife is cute and cuddly.

Fouts should keep his ridiculous emotions out of this and stop his bizarre, personal, very public vendetta against these guys.

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- circleDwagons
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:20pm
  They should have just placed a leash on the ” domesticated” deer and walked it back to their place.
  
  Report this comment
RJJinGadsden
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:03pm
I live down here in the South and hunting within city limits is illegal too. I certainly new better when I used to hunt quite a bit. The only thing that I see wrong here is that these two did violate the law, but the mayor is interfering with the legal process.

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- Fubared
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 9:14pm
  Ditto. Fine the morons and send the deer to Hunters For the Hungry. Urban archery is taking off in some places with high vehicle to deer run ins. People Eating Tasty Animals. peta.
  
  Report this comment
ResistSocialism
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 5:59pm
yea they are screwed

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AmericanStrega
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 5:58pm
Will there now be a call restricting Bows and Arrows?

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- Too_Far_Gone
  Posted on December 27, 2012 at 6:12pm
  prolly ..
  
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Kaoscontrol
Posted on December 27, 2012 at 5:58pm
Bye Bye, Bambi! Bringing home meat for the family!

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