When Jeff Phillips obtained pictures of an enormous buck in his Fb messages Thursday, he did what he all the time does. Phillips collected particulars from the sender and posted 4 photos to Star City Whitetails, the Fb web page the place he shares submitted pictures of Virginia deer along with his 72,000 followers. The pictures, which depict a person in camo kneeling beside an enormous nontypical whitetail, appeared with this caption: “Prince Edward County killed with 50 cal muzzleloader, shot this morning 713am at 20 yards, my third mounter this 12 months! Greatest buck of my LIFE 🦌💥”
Thirty minutes later, the publish blew up. Dozens of individuals recognized the deer because the Hollywood buck, a widely known deer with distinctive antlers that lived in and across the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. The difficulty? Hollywood Cemetery lies roughly 70 miles northeast of the place the person, Jason Walters, claimed to have shot his buck. Individuals started contacting the Virginia Division of Wildlife Sources, accusing Walters of poaching it from Richmond metropolis limits. Two further bucks Walters claimed to have killed have additionally been recognized by locals and wildlife photographers as residing within the cemetery.
“The Division of Wildlife Sources is conscious of the scenario and we’re conducting an investigation,” says DWR Lieutenant Frank Spuchesi, the Area 1 supervisor overseeing the officers on the case.
“We’ve gotten so many [tips] now that I’m probably not certain which one was the very first one,” Spuchesi added. “Plenty of our instances are excessive profile, however this one does appear to be getting somewhat bit extra consideration as a consequence of the truth that a few of these deer had been seen by lots of people within the public, and photographed loads. They had been out within the open. They weren’t elusive like a number of deer are once they get to that age. City deer tend to be seen much more.”
Though Spuchesi couldn’t establish Jason Walters as an individual of curiosity “right now” to Out of doors Life, he did affirm the investigation contains a number of bucks.
The buck pictures Phillips posted yesterday had been the third batch he says he obtained from Walters this season. On Nov. 20, Phillips posted pictures of Walters with a dark-antlered 8-point, reportedly shot in Richmond. On Dec. 1, Phillips posted photos of another 8-point Walters stated he shot in Chesterfield, simply exterior of Richmond.
“After which yesterday, he despatched me that [nontypical] buck,” says Phillips, a realtor with Whitetail Properties. “Though when he despatched the buck to me yesterday all he stated was, ‘Put up this up bud.’ And I noticed how good it was, and I used to be like, ‘Please embody some particulars, this can be a lovely deer. The place’d you kill it?’ Similar to anyone who sends me footage, I all the time ask the county.”
Walters complied. Though Phillips was conscious of a well-known nontypical usually seen and photographed close to the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, its antlers this 12 months didn’t look acquainted.
“It was a nationally recognized deer, however that deer has declined considerably rack-wise, consider it or not,” says Philips. “When he despatched the image in I simply thought, ‘rattling, that’s a gorgeous deer,’ however I didn’t see or consider any affiliation with that individual deer on the Hollywood Cemetery.”
Richmond-based wildlife photographer Bill Draper made the connection immediately. Draper takes images for the Hollywood Cemetery and Maymont Park, and enjoys non-public entry to grounds that the general public can’t all the time go to. For years Draper has photographed deer alongside the James River in Richmond, together with the so-called Hollywood buck which he known as a 22- or 24-point, relying on the 12 months.
“I do know this deer higher than I do know my three daughters. I can let you know each little nub on the antlers, I’ve received each completely different angle — entrance, again, facet, proper, left,” says Draper, noting that many images of the Hollywood buck that appeared within the Fb feedback had been pulled from his pages. “It was beginning to look somewhat haggard and run down. It’s an outdated deer. It had big, unbelievable, world-class antlers 4 years in the past. Clearly that is one other 4 years later and it’s nonetheless phenomenal.”
Draper took his final pictures of the Hollywood buck on Oct. 13 in Richmond. Though he’s all the time been cautious to keep away from posting any pictures or info that may reveal an excessive amount of concerning the deer’s location — for worry somebody would possibly poach it — Draper says he might discover the animal if he appeared exhausting sufficient. Particularly currently, because the buck has been shifting much less.
“He’s lived for the final 4 years in that individual neighborhood between Maymont Park, Mount Calvary Cemetery, Riverview Cemetery, Hollywood Cemetery, and James River Park North Financial institution Path space,” Draper says. “I’ve footage of him at Hollywood, on the North Financial institution Path, on the fringe of Mount Calvary, exterior of the fence at Maymont, and contained in the fence. He has not moved very a lot, he’s stayed fairly shut round that neighborhood. The individuals who reside there know that very effectively.”
(Draper has images that clearly present the buck amongst headstones and at recognized places in Richmond, he declined to share them for this text, citing his working relationship with the Cemetery. He has additionally inspired the Cemetery to chorus from posting his pictures of the deer on their social accounts to keep away from hotspotting the buck.)
Along with the massive nontypical, Draper says he photographed the dark-antlered 8-point in Richmond that Walters claimed to have shot in Chesterfield on Nov. 20.
“That 8-pointer used to come back by way of a gap within the fence at Hollywood like clockwork,” Draper says. “When the rut got here in he was rather less constant, clearly chasing does round. However nonetheless you’d see him within the cemetery.”
Draper additionally says that his buddy and fellow photographer Ben King has documented one other Richmond deer that Walters claims he killed in Chesterfield, which is roughly 13 miles southwest of Hollywood Cemetery.
Whereas there are carefully regulated urban bow seasons in Richmond, no looking is allowed in Hollywood Cemetery and sure surrounding properties. Deer within the space are conditioned to people and tolerate human exercise higher than most wild whitetails in additional rural areas. Nonetheless, Draper says the buck was extra careless this 12 months.
“[The big Hollywood buck] had been loads much less cautious this 12 months. It will be close to individuals’s yard, in Maymont Park it will mattress down beside the fence the place vehicles trip by. Per week or so in the past anyone posted an image of him on the Virginia Wildlife Fb web page and stated precisely the place he lived and the place you would see him. And there was a giant uproar. I don’t know if that was the reason for [the buck’s death].”
Based mostly on in-person sightings and {photograph} historical past, most sources estimated the Hollywood buck to be about eight years outdated.
“After I final checked out [the Hollywood buck] I stated, ‘It could not final by way of the winter.’ However I hate to see it go that manner,” says Draper. “It’s a disgrace. I would really like individuals to know which you can’t simply exit and shoot a deer like this and assume you’ll be able to publish it and nobody’s going to learn about it. It’s actually silly. Hopefully it would make individuals assume twice earlier than they poach a deer.”
Regardless of the city location, good cowl and forage exists within the space.
“He had lots to eat, lots to mattress, loads of water. He didn’t must go nowhere,” says Brandon Overstreet, a Virginia hunter and one of many first Fb commenters to make the connection between Walters’ pictures and the Hollywood buck. “He would by no means depart greater than a mile away. [The Hollywood buck] was very odd in a way too when the rut got here. There are such a lot of deer in that space, he by no means actually rutted. His neck by no means swelled up. He all the time had a skinny neck, didn’t must go chasing and looking for deer, as a result of he had 30 girlfriends.”
Overstreet says he discovered one of many Hollywood buck’s sheds two years in the past, which scored proper at 100 inches and was later auctioned to a distinguished collector. Though he lives in Bedford, Overstreet says he travels by way of Richmond each few weeks and sometimes visits Pumphouse Park and different places close to the James River to observe the buck. Though the deer had many nicknames, most frequently simply “Hollywood” or the “Hollywood buck,” locals generally known as him “Prince” (“as a result of they known as his daddy the King,” says Overstreet). By his greatest guess, anybody hoping to poach deer within the space must do it at night time.
“There are employees that work there throughout the day, they’re continuously making rounds,” says Overstreet. “Everybody has anticipated somebody to come back poach him.”
Subsequent Steps within the Poaching Investigation
When Phillips realized the buck he posted to Star Metropolis Whitetails Thursday morning appeared the identical because the Hollywood Cemetery buck, he messaged Walters on Fb once more.
“I despatched him again a textual content that stated ‘anyone simply despatched me footage of the Hollywood Cemetery deer, and that’s it.’ I believe he stated, ‘huh lol.’ I stated, ‘What does that imply’? He stated, ‘This buck was killed at my looking membership in Prince Edward County.’”
Phillips says he obtained that remaining message from Walters at 10:52 a.m. on Dec. 14. Walters’ private profile disappeared from Fb shortly after their alternate, and Phillips up to date his personal publish to replicate the brand new info. Each Walters and Draper have since been contacted by regulation enforcement. Spuchesi was unable to supply a timeline for when the general public would possibly study additional particulars concerning the case.
“I’d hope [we can resolve this] within the close to future,” Spuchesi says. “Some investigations final years, some final hours.”
