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they each received a written warning from Miller for “possession of illegal deer.”
Monty Cross said he met with Maj. Paul Mercer and Sgt. John Arstino of the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office the next day. They verified that it is not illegal to own miniature deer here, but that a state permit, costing $12.50, is required, Monty Cross said.
“After leaving that meeting, I began making phone calls to my elected representatives to ask for help in dealing with this obvious abuse of power by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries,” Monty Cross said in his statement. “My stated goal was to simply pay for the permit and ask to have my wife’s pets returned to her.”
But on June 29, Monty Cross said that he received a phone call from someone with the DGIF. He said that the man, Jerry Simms, then told him that the animals had been destroyed.
Monty Cross said he now wants answers to almost a dozen questions listed as part of his written statement.
Most of them pertain to the alleged conduct of the DGIF contingent that executed the warrant at his house. But he said he also wants to know why Cooper allegedly failed to “tell her immediate supervisor or Major Mercer that she had taken it upon herself to involve the DGIF.” The official response
Mercer said last week that he is aware of the incident and that it is being investigated. He said, however, he cannot comment further because it is a personnel issue.
A search warrant and the accompanying affidavit Miller filed in Fauquier County Circuit Court last week does provide additional insight into the case.
The affidavit indicates that Miller requested the warrant in relation to an offense substantially described as a “violation of 4 Virginia Administrative Code 15-30-40 (importation requirement, possession and sale of nonnative or exotic animals.”
That portion of the administrative code stipulates, “A special permit is required and may be issued by the (DGIF)... to import, possess or sell.those nonnative (exotic) animals that the board finds and declares to be predatory or undesirable ... in that their introduction into the Commonwealth will be detrimental to the native fish and wildlife resources of Virginia.”
An application for people
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