Pair arrested for night hunting and drug possession
Staff report
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – David Brotherton Cunningham, 39, and Nicholas Dean Kirkland, 44, were arrested late last night for night hunting and drug possession; Cunningham was also charged with possession of firearms during the commission of a felony.
At about 10:47 p.m. on October 4, a Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officer was patrolling on County Road 325 and saw a pickup truck shining a bright white light into the woodline on both sides of the road “in a manner that would be capable of disclosing the presence of deer.”
The officer noticed that the truck was pulling a trailer without working rear lights, and he conducted a traffic stop.
The occupants of the truck told the officer there were firearms in the truck, so he asked Kirkland, the passenger, to get out, patted him down, and detained him; he then asked Cunningham to get out of the vehicle and patted him down.
After an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy arrived as backup, the officer reportedly found an AR-15 pistol, two AR-15-style rifles, and three 9mm handguns, along with a loaded AR-15 magazine and miscellaneous ammunition and magazines in a box. The search also reportedly produced a spotlight and a bag containing a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine.
Kirkland reportedly admitted shining the spotlight into the woods and “bragged” about how bright it was. Post Miranda, he reportedly admitted to shining the light and said he knew there were firearms in the truck.
A search of Kirkland, incident to arrest, reportedly produced a small baggie of cocaine.
While Cunningham was being booked into the jail, cocaine was reportedly found in his wallet.
Cunningham has been charged with night hunting, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and introducing contraband into a detention facility. He has five misdemeanor convictions (one violent), and Judge Craig DeThomasis set bail at $4,000.
Kirkland has been charged with night hunting and possession of a controlled substance. He has six misdemeanor convictions (two violent), and Judge DeThomasis ordered him released on his own recognizance.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
But the 5.56 NATO round is too low powered to be legal for deer hunting.
Meaning therefore they weren’t really hunting? Doesn’t sound like these guys cared much about what’s legal.
Nope. Their lights were obviously brighter than they were though.
Shot placement, weight & distance make a difference.
Drugs and guns and they just walk out the door.
So if you’re gonna be dumb enough to break the law, you should probably have all your bases covered. Non-working trailer lights, shining a light into the woods, etc. Why oh why is it always the same thing? The smart ones never get caught, the dumb ones do, and there sure seems to be a heck of a lot more dumb ones around here.
Its illegal to hunt at night?
Not under all circumstances.
Duh
Huh?
Farmers and ranchers are able to hire hunters to keep down varmint and other wildlife populations that have a negative impact on their crops or livestock; coyotes, deer, hogs. That’s likely to upset some tree huggers.
I do not think these rocket scientists were helping the farm owners with rampant deer issues by night hunting. They are more likely meth heads that never learned to hunt for real. They probably can’t own guns. Just like the other poachers that live in that area.
Of course not but some people didn’t know there are circumstances.
“Yes, you can hunt at night in Florida for specific animals, such as coyotes and wild hogs, by obtaining a Gun & Light at Night Permit for certain species and land types, which authorizes the use of artificial lights for nocturnal hunting. You can also hunt predators like coyotes, raccoons, and opossums year-round on private land with landowner permission, and night vision devices are generally allowed if they don’t emit visible light.”
People don’t have a clue how many coyotes are in the area and many don’t want to know until one eats their little dog. Even less have probably even seen what a bunch of feral hogs can to a yard.