The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) recently announced that the culprits of “extensive wildlife poaching activity” have pleaded guilty. The agency says that game wardens were initially alerted to the illegal behavior in Wilson and Rutherford counties by a concerned citizen in the fall of 2024.
During the ensuing investigation, TWRA game wardens identified Robert E. Comer and Carson Smith for illegally hunting whitetail deer—and perhaps even more shockingly, of illegally selling and bartering whitetail deer meat. At the time, Comer had already been banned from possessing a hunting license for three years following a conviction for previous wildlife infractions.
The game wardens soon executed a series of search warrants—and confiscated a truly astounding collection of evidence. In total, they seized a whopping 50 whitetail buck racks, as well as one wild turkey head and a fox squirrel. They also took possession of the weapons used in the poaching incidents, including a rifle, a muzzleloader, and a crossbow.
Ultimately, the poachers pleaded guilty to multiple infractions. Comer pleaded guilty to two felony counts of the possession/traffic of protected wildlife, one count of the illegal take, possession, or destruction of wildlife, and two counts of hunting on revocation. He received a rare lifetime hunting, fishing, and trapping ban, and was also banned from setting foot on any TWRA-controlled or managed lands for the rest of his life. He must pay $15,000 in restitution and serve a 60-day prison sentence.
Meanwhile, Smith pleaded guilty to three counts of the illegal take, possession, or destruction of wildlife, as well as bag limit and tagging violations. His hunting privileges were revoked for three years.
Following the shocking poaching case, TWRA is encouraging folks to report suspicious behavior or hunting violations. As MeatEater previously reported, a high percentage of poaching cases go undetected.
“When you see people grossly violating wildlife laws, like shooting way over the limit, typically the best policy is to turn them in because what they are doing is taking from the rest of us by doing that,” Mike Butler, CEO of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, told NewsChannel5 Nashville.
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