A Van Buren County man will serve 18 months to five years in jail for deer poaching. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says 33-year-old Justin Ernst of Decatur pleaded guilty this week to one count of obtaining a hunting license when ineligible, three counts of Illegal taking of whitetail deer, and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. In addition to the jail time, he’s been ordered to forfeit all seized items and pay $25,000 in restitution. On top of that, he’s been given a lifetime hunting ban. Michigan State Police investigating a domestic violence complaint in October noticed several deer in a barn where Ernst spends time. They notified the DNR, which found eight illegally taken deer in there. Two days later, they got a tip Ernst had taken another deer, which they confirmed. DNR Assistant Chief of Law Enforcement David Shaw says the agency is “satisfied that this criminal will be imprisoned for robbing ethical hunters, damaging crops and endangering others by recklessly driving through fields and shooting deer at night.”
