A Mount Desert Island man accused of more than 60 hunting violations is spending 30 days in jail after reaching a plea deal with state officials.
Benjamin Hamor, 51, of Mount Desert, also was ordered to pay more than $11,000 in fines and related charges, according to court documents.
Hamor was charged with nearly 50 misdemeanors and more than a dozen civil violations after going on a spree of hunting crimes in the fall of 2020, according to court documents. Some of the alleged violations were committed on MDI, where the state prohibits hunting altogether, while others occurred in Ellsworth and surrounding towns, including Hancock, Lamoine and Surry.
Deer poaching is not a new issue on MDI, where the state has banned hunting because its private lands are so close to Acadia National Park. Federal law prohibits hunting in the park, but many MDI officials and residents say the bans have led to an overpopulation of deer.
State officials, in cooperation with Operation Game Thief, announced last fall that they were offering a $4,000 reward for information about the illegal shooting of two deer on MDI — one in the town of Mount Desert in October, and another in Tremont the following month. Officials with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife have not responded to requests for updates on that investigation.
Earlier this year, Hamor pleaded guilty to 21 of the criminal charges and admitted to two of the civil charges — all of which stem from 2020 — in exchange for the state dismissing the remaining counts. He reported to Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth on Feb. 15 to begin serving his 30-day sentence.
Jeffrey Toothaker, Hamor’s defense attorney, said Monday that he potentially could have faced more than $50,000 in fines for his illegal hunting spree, which occurred from late August to late November of 2020.
“I think he got handled nicely,” Toothaker said about the resolution. “It could have been a lot worse.”
Of the 48 criminal charges Hamor faced, 14 stemmed from illegal hunting in Bar Harbor, and 12 more were alleged to have happened in Lamoine, according to court documents. Two charges stemmed from alleged hunting violations on Tinker Island, which is in Blue Hill Bay and considered part of the town of Tremont, and four stemmed from hunting violations on Bar Island, which is part of Acadia National Park.
Officials with the Hancock County District Attorney’s Office, Acadia National Park and Maine IF&W did not respond to requests this week for comment on Hamor’s case.
The court case file did not include descriptions of Hamor’s actions that led to the charges.
The 48 criminal charges Hamor initially faced included hunting during closed season, failing to register harvested game, exceeding his harvest limit for deer, possessing an unregistered harvested animal, and hunting or possessing an antlerless deer without a permit. He also was charged with falsifying physical evidence, and unsworn falsification, among other crimes.
Of the 15 additional civil charges he faced, eight were for illegally baiting deer in Bar Harbor and one was for failing to tag a deer in Bar Harbor. He also faced six civil charges of transporting harvested game that he did not lawfully possess in various towns. As part of his plea deal, he admitted to two civil charges of illegally baiting deer, and the rest were dismissed.
Toothaker said no probation was imposed as part of Hamor’s sentence, and there was nothing in the plea deal that addressed Hamor’s legal right to hunt after he is released from jail.
He said things such as suspensions or revocations of hunting licenses typically are handled directly by Maine IF&W, not by the court system.
