CARYVILLE, TN (WLAF) – A Jacksboro man has been charged with violations related to illegally killing an elk on the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area here in Campbell Co.

Sean Doney is charged with illegally killing a cow elk.  This photo is from November 2019 and is courtesy of the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office.

On Dec. 30, TWRA Wildlife Officer Brenden Marlow charged Sean Doney, 33, of Vinsant Estates Drive – Jacksboro, with five violations after he admitted to illegally killing a cow elk on the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area.  Charges include: Hunting Big Game in Closed Season, Hunting Without a License, Hunting without Hunter Education, Illegal Take of Big Game, and Failure to Retrieve Game on a WMA.  Wildlife Officers also seized a high-powered rifle from the defendant who is scheduled to appear in Campbell Co. General Sessions Court on Feb. 20, 2020 at 9 a.m.  RELATED STORY

Doney was identified as a suspect by members of the general public after the Campbell Outdoor Recreation Association and Pine Mountain Longbeards Chapter of the NWTF offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the responsible person(s).

The elk was found lying dead in a food plot in the Red Ash area of NCWMA on Dec. 23.  The cow elk was wearing a GPS collar as part of a 3-year elk research study with the UT Dept. of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries.  A necropsy by the UT College of Veterinary Medicine concluded the animal had been shot and a bullet was recovered from the carcass.

According officials with the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, Doney was not brought to their facility.  Although, based on jail records, Doney has a history of arrests and was most recently arrested by Caryville Police on November 5 for criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct.  (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 12/31/2019-NOON)