Two Men Lose Hunting Privileges in Deer Poaching Case

Two men will lose their hunting privileges after pleading guilty Monday in Harford District Court to deer poaching charges.

Stephen Eugene Nuckols Jr., 31, of Bel Air, and Brian Joseph Nuckols, 25, of Perry Hall, were arrested last year for using lights to aid them while hunting, an illegal practice known as jacklighting.

Stephen Nuckols was sentenced to six months in jail—all suspended, fined $100 plus court costs, and placed on two years of unsupervised probation. His Maryland hunting license was revoked for four years.

Brian Nuckols was given probation before judgment, fined $100 plus court costs, and was placed on two years unsupervised probation. His Maryland hunting license was revoked for two years.

Six other charges, ranging from negligent hunting to having a loaded firearm in a vehicle, were placed on the inactive docket. The men could have faced up to six years in prison, fines as much as $11,750 and revocation of their hunting privileges for up to five years.

A rifle, two flashlights and other hunting gear were forfeited to the state.

The two men were stopped on Nov. 29 near the Darlington Cemetery after a Maryland Natural Resources Police officer on patrol saw a car driving slowly up and down along Shuresville Road. The driver backed into two driveways, so the car’s occupants could scan the fields with high beams and another light.

The officer stopped the vehicle and found a loaded rifle under the car’s back seat.

Stephen Nuckols is on probation until April 2017 for a 2013 trespassing conviction obtained by the Maryland Natural Resources Police. He was found guilty previously of trespassing on private property (2008), hunting without a license in possession (2010) and hunting without permission (2010), all in Harford County.

Brian Nuckols was found guilty of trespassing on private property in Harford County in 2008.