Kentucky man accused of hunting, guiding violations to pay $44,000 in restitution
A Kentucky man has been ordered to pay $44,000 to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources after being charged with multiple violations, according to the agency.
Game wardens investigated Timothy Smithwick, 59, for allegedly guiding hunters without proper licensing at his property in Muhlenberg County and for allegedly illegally baiting the property to attract turkey, the department said in a news release.
Smithwick, of Drakesboro, was charged with illegally taking turkey, illegal guiding and trapping and license violations.
He was sentenced to 12 months in jail, but the sentence was suspended on the condition he pay restitution by Jan. 2, according to the court docket.
His hunting privileges also were suspended for a year.
Fish and Wildlife investigators also charged five hunters from Georgia with various offenses at Smithwick’s property, including hunting without licenses, according to the department.
One hunter, 26-year-old Colby Stancil of Jasper, Ga., allegedly ran from officers into the woods to hide an unplugged shotgun. Plugs limit the number of shells that can be put into a shotgun.
In Kentucky, the limit is three shells while hunting turkey.
Stancil pleaded guilty to illegally taking turkey and hunting with an unplugged shotgun and was fined $200 and court costs of $163, the court docket shows.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources announced the restitution payment Wednesday.
The payment is one of the larger restitution amounts ever ordered for the department’s Law Enforcement Division and Special Investigations Unit, according to Maj. David Marques, assistant director of the agency.
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 12:44 PM.
