Stephen Burt, 64, of Colchester, has been charged with possession of illegal big game in connection with an early morning deer poaching case in Essex, Fish & Wildlife officials say.

The Vermont Warden Service received an Operation Game Thief alert in the early morning hours of Wednesday, December 2, for a report of a gun shot fired before daylight in Essex. A responding State Game Warden narrowed the shot location to an overgrown field and after searching found an antlered deer deceased with a bullet hole in it.

Wardens remained on scene conducting surveillance for several hours until a black truck pulled up to the field and backed up to the deer shortly after 11 o’clock. The operator of the truck retrieved the deer and dragged it back to his truck. Wardens apprehended the operator, Stephen Burt, who was taken into custody without incident and is scheduled to appear in Chittenden Superior Court at a later date.

• VT Headlines: Protesters rally across Vermont over immigration, federal and military actions
• Video game reveals people value feeding their neighbors—even at a cost to themselves
• Soulia: VT taxpayers spent $500M on climate policies. The planet didn’t notice.
• State Treasurer accuses feds of ‘murdering’ Minneapolis activist
• Man arrested for threatening federal agents