7 days.
Rockingham man with multiple hunting violations sent to jail for seven days
By Bob Audette
BRATTLEBORO — A Rockingham man with multiple fish and wildlife convictions will spend seven days in jail after pleading guilty to six more violations related to taking deer out of season.
Christopher Brough Sr., 51, pleaded guilty to the six charges and must turn himself in on Monday to serve his sentence. Upon his release, Brough must serve four years on probation. Brough, who didn’t have a hunting license in 2020 when he committed his offenses, is also restricted from having any hunting weapons of any kind while in the woods or in his vehicle.
“It won’t happen again,” said Brough during his hearing on Wednesday.
Vermont Fish and Wildlife began an investigation into Brough in December 2020. During the course of the investigation, game wardens determined Brough had shot and killed five deer while his rights to hunt, fish and trap were suspended for prior convictions.
According to information from Fish and Wildlife, the deer Brough took were ultimately reported at Vermont Big Game Reporting Stations by his adult children.
Brough was charged with a total of 34 misdemeanors in Windham and Windsor counties. In Windham County, the charges included two counts of hunting under revocation, four counts of possession of an illegal big game animal, one count of failure to tag a big game animal, one count of taking deer in excess of the annual limit, three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and three counts of false information to law enforcement authorities.
In Windsor County, the charges included three counts of hunting under revocation, one count of failure to tag a big game animal, three counts of possession of an illegal big game animal, three counts of shooting from a motor vehicle or public highway, two counts of taking deer in excess of the annual limit, one count of failure to report a big game animal, one count of taking big game by illegal means for using a flashlight, one count of taking big game outside of the legal day, and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
On Wednesday, Brough pleaded guilty to six of the charges, three in each county, and received a sentence of 119 to 120 days, all suspended except for seven days, and a $1,000 fine.
“Mr. Brough has a long-standing history of violating fish and wildlife laws,” noted Windham County Deputy State’s Attorney Steven Brown.
In 2016, Brough pleaded guilty to taking big game by illegal means, taking deer in closed season and giving false information to a police officer and lost his right to a hunting license. Game wardens determined Brough had shot the deer with a muzzleloader from inside his vehicle on Rockingham Hill Road in Rockingham. Wardens also discovered that the deer was shot before legal shooting hours and that his son, Christopher Brough Jr., used a flashlight to illuminate the deer from inside the vehicle.
Brough was convicted of similar charges in 2007 and 2009.
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Originally Posted by JABIII
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