Armstrong man banned from hunting for 10 years

An Armstrong man who shot and killed an adult female deer in Okanagan Falls while intoxicated two years ago — leaving two fawns without their mother — was sentenced to 75 hours of community work and prohibited from hunting for 10 years.

Robert Magee, 49, who pleaded guilty to one count of endangering wildlife outside of approved hours under the provincial Wildlife Act, had no criminal record. He apologized profusely for his actions, telling a Penticton court Friday he was going through a difficult time in his life when this incident took place.

Besides the community work, which he will have to complete over two years, and the hunting ban, Magee was fined $500 and  ordered to not possess any prohibited weapon, including a crossbow and arrows, firearm or ammunition for two years.

Crown attorney Monica Fras told the court that in sometime between 1 and 3 a.m. on Aug. 15, 2023, Fras took out a crossbow he had purchased at a garage sale and used an arrow he had borrowed from a friend.

While vacationing in Okanagan Falls, Magee fired the arrow towards a deer he had briefly seen walking with two fawns in the backyard of the residence he was staying at, said Fras.

The animal was about 20 feet away and Magee was not sure if the arrow he fired had hit the adult deer and couldn’t find the arrow or the deer after a brief search in the dark, she said.

Court heard conservation officers were contacted that an adult female deer had been found dead in the doorway of another residence in Okanagan Falls the following morning.

An investigation by conservation officers discovered that someone had forwarded a photo of a license plate on a vehicle, which led to Magee, who admitted he was the person responsible for firing the arrow and killing the deer, said Fras.

The Crown was asking for a sentence that would be harsh enough to discourage other members of the community from engaging in a similar act.

The Crown was hoping that the sentence “will deter others from engaging in this type of behaviour,” she said.

The Crown would normally ask for a relatively high fine in a case like this, but realizes Magee has no history of criminal behaviour or contravening the Wildlife Act and felt the 10-year hunting ban, $500 fine and two-year probation order would be a sufficient penalty, she said.

Before sentence was imposed by Justice George Leven, Magee told the court he “quit drinking cold turkey” and hasn’t had a drink since this incident.

He told the court he deeply regrets his actions and acted out because he was severely intoxicated and was drinking heavily at the time because he had been denied access to his teenage daughter, who needed his support.

He had only seen his daughter six times in three years and was struggling with how to handle the difficult family situation, he said.

Neven agreed to the joint submission.

“Under all the circumstances, I agree that this is an appropriate sentence,” said Neven.

— This article was originally published by the Penticton Herald