MONTMORENCY COUNTY (WWJ) - A couple of Metro Detroit residents hoping to partake in the first day of firearm deer hunting season ended up behind bars after they were caught drunk driving and in possession of drugs and illegal firearms Up North.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said three hunters were arrested on Wednesday, Nov. 15 after two men wearing hunter orange stopped to talk to a conservation officer Sgt. Mike Mshar.
According to the DNR, Mshar had initially noticed the two men while patrolling County Road 622 near Rouse Road in Montmorency County, north of Atlanta.
The sergeant said he passed a slow-moving vehicle occupied by two men wearing hunter orange, when the driver of the vehicle stopped to talk to Mshar, the eagle-eyed sergeant noticed the passenger place something under his seat.
Mshar asked the passenger to step out of the vehicle and when he did, a bag of suspected cocaine fell out on the ground.
As Mshar was working on the violation when a second vehicle, driven by the father of the passenger in the first vehicle, arrived at the scene.
At this time, DNR officials said CO Dan Liestenfeltz arrived to help Msher. Both officers suspected, based on their interactions with the father, that he was driving drunk.
The father was asked to complete field sobriety tests, which DNR officials said he failed.
"Concealed pistol license-certified, the man was also carrying a loaded pistol, which is illegal when intoxicated by drugs or alcohol," the DNR said in a prepared statement. "Officers obtained probable cause to search both vehicles and located additional cocaine (2 grams total) in the first vehicle, along with three rifles. A second pistol and rifle were found in the father's vehicle."
All three men were arrested and lodged in the Alpena County Jail. Their identities have been withheld pending their arraignment.
The two men in the first vehicle are facing two felony charges each, one for possessing cocaine and one for possessing a firearm with illegal drugs.
The driver of the second vehicle faces two misdemeanor charges, operating while intoxicated and possessing a firearm while intoxicated.
"This is a strong case that supports our mission to promote safe and fair hunting," said DNR Law Enforcement Division Chief Jason Haines. "These individuals posed an immediate safety risk to themselves and others who were on the road and in the woods enjoying opening day of deer season in northern Michigan."
Anyone who suspects illegal hunting activity or natural resource violations, can contact the DNR's Report All Poaching hotline at 800-292-7800. Tipsters may remain anonymous and could qualify for a cash reward.
