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COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — A 74-year-old U.S. Coast Guard veteran is asking to receive jail time rather than be asked to pay a fine for allegedly using bait to hunt deer.
Tacoma resident James Brummett said he plans to plead guilty to the misdemeanor hunting citation if his recent motion to dismiss the case is denied, The Coeur d'Alene Press reports (http://bit.ly/1SkHaiZ).
Craig Walker, regional conservation officer for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Coeur d'Alene, said Brummett was cited for hunting whitetail deer over bait last month at the Tall Pines wildlife area at Hayden Lake.
Fines will be up to a judge, but Walker said state law says they can range from $25 to $1,000. Brummett also faces up to six months in jail and a loss of hunting privileges for three years.
Brummett, who is disabled from Agent Orange exposure, depression and heart problems, said his heart condition prevents him from climbing hills or packing heavy weight. He said he wants the court to consider changing the rules on baiting deer for disabled veteran hunters.
"The night of the ticket I sat down and cried for hours, because I could no longer hunt the way I used to and I'm a person who never cries," he wrote in court documents.
Brummett is scheduled to appear in Kootenai County court on Jan. 5. He filed a motion to plead guilty "with explanation."
"I would request a small fine and want to serve the fine out in jail to aid any and all future disabled veteran hunters," Brummett wrote in the document.
Fish and Game Commissioner Brad Corkill, of Cataldo, declined to comment on Brummett's case.
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Information from: Coeur d'Alene Press, http://www.cdapress.com
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