RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The man arrested for allegedly killing Richmond’s beloved “Hollywood Buck” is facing a total of 19 charges related to trespassing and illegally killing deer across Virginia.
Thirty-six-year-old Jason Walters of Richmond is slated to appear in court on Tuesday, Feb. 27.
Walters was arrested on Sunday, Jan. 28 after a conservation police officer from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources obtained a search warrant, as well as a warrant for his arrest, in connection to the illegal killing of three deer in Virginia.
According to a search warrant obtained by 8News, on Dec. 14, the conservation police officer was made aware of photos posted on Star City Whitetails’ Facebook account which showed Walters with a “nontypical” 29-point buck — a buck with 29 points on its antlers — claiming the deer was killed in Prince Edward County.
The document said the officer then searched in the GoOutdoor licensing database for Walter’s hunting license, where a phone number was found attached to his account. His deer harvest records were reviewed and it was found that only one antlered deer was checked in on Nov. 17.
The officer alleged that no record of the suspected “Hollywood Buck” was checked in, “which is required upon taking possession of the animal.”
During the evening of Dec. 14, the document says the officer called Walters and left a voicemail asking for him to return the call.
Walters called back on Dec. 15 from a different phone number, according to the document.
The document said that, later that day, the officer interviewed Walter at his home. During the interview, Walters said he shot the antlered deer near the West Lake Hills area of Chesterfield County and showed the officer on a map as to where he claimed to have hunted.
Walters said he did not know who owned the property he was hunting on and did not have permission to hunt on the land, according to the search warrant.
Walters also said that he had contacted his aunt and cousin the morning he harvested the deer due to issues with his vehicle before he arrived at his home with the deer.
When asked if he had taken any photos of the deer with his phone, or if he had any photos on his phone, Walters said that he had taken photos, but had since erased all of them. Walters said he used Facebook to send the photos to Star City Whitetails’ Facebook to be posted online, but that he had also since deleted his own Facebook account.
Two officials had contacted Walters’ stepfather earlier that day, who showed both officers that he had exchanged text messages with Walters from the phone number linked to his GoOutdoors account.
A search warrant was then obtained for Walters’ phone with the number linked to the account, which the officer alleged would “show information relating to the possession of the deer [as well as] when and where it was obtained.”
Walters is facing the following charges in connection to the alleged killing of the “Hollywood Buck,” which is suspected to have occurred in Richmond on Dec. 14:
- Trespass after forbidden
- Killing a deer; exceeding bag limit
- Earning a buck
- Trespassing to hunt, fish or trap
- Hunting regulation: failure to report
- Hunting regulation: failure to tag
- Unlawful hunt of a wild animal
- Two counts of dumping trash on a highway or on private property
Walters is facing eleven other charges related to incidents that occurred on three separate dates in connection to the illegal killings of other deer in Virginia.
