Robotic deer used as bait in arrest of man hunting illegally, Kentucky officials say.

Wildlife officials got some help from a robotic deer to arrest a man accused of hunting illegally in Kentucky.

James Malone, 29, was spotted shining his SUV’s headlights “for an extended period of time” on what he thought was a deer on Sunday in Taylor County, according to an arrest citation from the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife.

It was actually a robotic deer, which officials said they were using to catch “spot lighters.”

Kentucky hunting regulations state “no person may deliberately cast the rays of a spotlight ... into any field, pasture, woodlands or forest, whether public or private, where wildlife or domestic livestock may reasonably be expected to be located.”

When officers stopped Malone’s vehicle, he told them he was in the area looking for deer and had killed one earlier in the hunting season despite not having a hunting license or deer permit, the citation says.

Officials said they found a .270 rifle under the back seat of the vehicle, which Malone said he previously used to kill a buck.

In Kentucky, hunters are required to report harvested deer, but Malone did not do it, officials said.

Officials also found what they suspected to be methamphetamine in Malone’s vehicle, according to the citation.

Malone was arrested and charged with spotlighting, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, illegal taking or pursuing of a deer, hunting without a license and criminal littering, records show.

A $5,000 cash bond was set Monday, according to to court records.

In June, Malone was found guilty of hunting without a license and illegal taking or pursuing a turkey, records show. He was spotted in a Snapchat photo posing with a harvested turkey he did not report, a previous citation states.

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