January 1, 2009 Claiborne Sheriff David Ray Takes Fifth Amendment, then Admits to Shooting a Deer Without a License "For the Inmates"

In the continuing saga of Claiborne Sheriff David Ray, Ray now faces misdemeanor charges of hunting without a license after pulling off the road, getting out of his vehicle, and shooting a deer that was walking along an open area of the Claiborne County fairgrounds. News-Sentinel article is here.

[For a more complete background on David Ray, click on the links below. Ray was indicted for statutory rape and rape by an authority figure for an incident or incidents that allegedly occurred in Hancock County in November 2005 and November 2006.

He did not go to trial on those charges. Instead, he was granted pre-trial diversion in September 2008 by DA Berkeley Bell. As part of the diversion agreement, Ray was assigned to 250 hours of community service at some unknown location in lovely Hamblen County.

Click here for a prior post and links to other information. To see the terms of Ray's pre-trial diversion agreement and the community service in Hamblen County, click here. As part of the pre-trial agreement, Ray was "not [to] commit any offenses" during the 2-year probation period. Ray also agreed to "report all arrests, including traffic violations, regardless of disposition, to his Probation Counselor."]

According to the News-Sentinel story, Ray was driving by the Claiborne County fairgrounds when he spotted deer walking on the fairgrounds. Ray apparently pulled over, got out a gun, and shot one of the deer. One of his friends shot another deer. Neither Ray nor his friend had a hunting license.

The TWRA cited Ray for hunting without a license. Ray took the Fifth Amendment when he was initially questioned about the incident. Then he lawyered up and admitted to "poor judgment" in the shooting but claimed it was for the good of the county because it was to get food "for the inmates."

One of the commenters on the News-Sentinel website added that the good Sheriff should go down the road and pick up free roadkill for the inmates to add to the fresh venison that the sheriff is always on the lookout for! Others are noting that the "average" unlicensed hunter is charged with multiple offenses in similar incidents with lots of fines and often confiscations.

What will happen here? Well, this is how the DA described the shooting: "These deer were shot on an open area of the fairgrounds. The area was not posted as a no hunting area."

Yep, and I'm sure there are many other "open areas" at the fairgrounds and on school property and on other public and private property in Claiborne County. Is there no common sense here?

Do "no hunting" signs really need to be posted on fairground property, justice center property, and public parks so THE SHERIFF will know that you don't pull out your gun and start hunting in those places?

I hope the DA didn't really mean that it's not very serious ("just like a speeding ticket") or dangerous if someone sees a deer and pulls over and starts shooting at a deer walking on public property---and at a fairground no less.

I also hope that no young children were walking near the fairground or witnessed the shootings from a passing car.

Maybe Claiborne County needs to post a sign on its fairground and other public property: "Beware of Unlicensed Deer Hunters and the Claiborne County Sheriff Seeking Venison for Inmates."

This would at least warn everybody that those areas are fair game (pun intended) for unlicensed deer hunters and the good Sheriff.